Freedom
by PsychoRien
Summary: Freedom. That's all we've ever wanted. They capture us. Brand us. And, even if we run far from sight, they still feel so close. They are like a lingering nightmare. Never disappearing. When we set off on our own paths, they somehow come back to haunt us. It's hard to think that we will never be free. (In which Luffy is an escaped slave and the Strawhats are left in the dark) AU
1. Prologue: Atashitte, Honto Baka

**(1) OST 7-Disorder (Madoka Magica)**

**(2) Sayaka Theme- Decretum (Madoka Magica)**

* * *

_We are not free. They capture us and strip up of our freedom. They take us away from all that is dear. They mark us in our skin and hearts with scars that will never heal. A reminder that freedom was just an illusion and this is now our painful reality. They force us to do their disgusting deeds and bow at their feet. They force us to fear them. They force us to worship them. To them, we are nothing but their tools. If we break, they throw us out and replace us with new ones. Freedom is nothing but a dream. A beautifully painful dream. We are not free. We are slaves._

* * *

Luffy opened his eyes and breathed hard. He was lying on his side. The hard, cold ground gave him goosebumps. His head pounded and his body hurt like shit. He scrolled through his memories, trying to find what happened. _Oh yeah. I got marked and that Celestial Dragon beat me up._ He winced as he shifted and sat up, against the wall. He checked himself to see where the mark was put. There it was. The mark of the Celestial Dragon, upper right of his arm. He touched it and gritted his teeth. Why did this happen? Why did this have to happen to him? This was worse than anything Luffy could imagine. Even death. He never had the chance to set sail. He never had the chance to become a pirate. He never got to taste freedom. He couldn't keep his promise to Shanks. Why? Why did this have to happen to him? He stared at the sea stone bracelets that were tightly wrapped around his wrists. He felt the tears starting to gather in his eyes. He curled up, burying his face into his chest. His arms wrapped around his legs and his left hand covered up the mark on his arm. His straw hat tilted over his eyes. He started to sob silently. _What is my reason now? What is my reason to live now? _

_My life is now my hell…_

_My life…_

* * *

Ace and Sabo struggled in the grip of the guards. Right now, they are being carried into their worst nightmare. They were going to become slaves. Ace banged a fist against the guard's arms, trying to get free. Sabo tried wiggling himself free, but failed horribly. The guard stopped at one of the cells and another guard came and unlocked the barred gate. The guard tossed Ace and Sabo in the cell like a sack of potatoes and closed it, locking them in. Ace and Sabo ran up to the bars and grabbed them, shaking them.

"Let us go!"

"Come back here!"

But, their voices went unheard. No one came. They couldn't be saved now. All their hopes and dreams were just an illusion now. Ace and Sabo eventually gave up yelling. No one was going to listen anyway. No one was coming. They never expected someone to. Ace growled and sat down on the cold stone ground, against the wall. Sabo did the same. They took a glance around the cell. It wasn't huge, but it wasn't tiny either. It was unnaturally dark and gloomy. They could barely see the figure that was lying on the ground in the corner. Sabo crawled over to the figure. It was a boy. Probably 6 or 7. He had black, sticky, messy hair. He wore shorts and a ragged short-sleeved shirt. A straw hats hung from his neck on a string. Ace crawled over to Sabo. "Who is he?" He asked.

"I don't know." Sabo said. "But, he's definitely a slave." Sabo gritted his teeth. _This child is way too young. He shouldn't have to go through this. Do these people have a heart at all!?_

"I can't believe this." Ace whispered bitterly. _Why is this happening? Why can't this all just be a sick, twisted dream?_ Ace pinched his cheek and twisted in hard until he could feel blood start gathering up in the cut that his nails made.

"Ace…" Sabo whispered.

"This isn't right." Ace took his hand away. "Why can't this be a dream? Just some sick, twisted dream that we can always wake up from? Why?" Before Sabo could say anything to comfort his friend, they both heard a groan and turned to the boy. The boy slowly shifted and sat up again the wall. He curled into a ball, with his arms wrapped around his legs. His chin rested on his kneels. His eyes were dull. There was no shine left. He looked hopeless. He turned his head to look at Ace and Sabo. He blinked and then smiled probably the most empty smile the two have ever seen. **(1)**

"Hi. You guys must be new." He spoke with empty words. "It's nice to have some company for once."

Sabo was slightly taken back by the way the child spoke. His smile was so empty it hurt to watch. His words were filled with fake emotion. It was like he wasn't even human anymore. He looked over to Ace.

"Hey." Ace said. "I'm Ace."

"I'm Sabo." Sabo said. "It's nice to meet you...er…"

"Luffy." The child said with his fake smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Luffy." Sabo said.

Luffy let out a small giggled. "It's nice. Being called by my real name again." Sabo smiled slightly on the outside. On the inside, he was boiling with rage. This isn't the way a child should be acting. It wasn't right. He looked over to Ace, who had his fist clenched and his eyes were glaring slightly. "Are you two marked yet?"

Ace shook his head and scowled at the idea. "I'm not going to let them either."

"If you're thinking about escaping, you can't." Luffy said. "I've already tried." His hollow eyes held much pain, like he was remembering horrible memories. He reached back and his hand wrapped around the rim of his straw hat. He placed it on his head and sighed. His lip quivered. "When they catch you, you'll get a hell of a beating."

Ace growled. "That doesn't mean I can't try." Ace crossed his arms and thought for a moment. When that open at gate, we can beat the guards up and escape-"

"Tried that." Luffy cut in.

"Then, what about-"

"Tried it."

"I haven't even said what I was thinking of." Ace said, shark-teethed.

"Whatever you were about to say, I've probably tried it already." Luffy said. "I've already tried everything I could think of. They never worked, and I always got beat up. I'm used to it, I guess. I've been here long enough."

"How long?" Sabo asked.

"Don't know." Luffy smiled sadly, though it was still empty. "Maybe a year or so. I lost track already."

"How old were you when you came here?" Ace asked.

"7." Luffy answered.

Ace gave him a look that said *are you serious?* "You don't even look 6 years old, kid."**(2)**

"I've been told that." Luffy huffed and smiled. "I guess I'm 8 now, huh. Life sure takes its sweat time."

Sabo gritted his teeth and look at Ace. Ace's eyes were hard. "Hey, are you trying to say you want to die?" Ace demanded, his anger boiling. Sure, he would question his existence, but this child. He was not like Ace. Ace wouldn't except this. Sabo stared at him in shock and surprise.

"Ace, what are you…"

"Die?" Luffy stared at his hands. "Maybe. Anything is better than this hellhole." He chuckled again, which made Ace sick. How could someone's laugh be this lifeless? Laughing is supposed to mean happiness. Not sorrow. "I don't think I care anymore. If I live or die, I don't see the difference between the two. Ha, I don't have a purpose in life than to serve some stuck up Celestial Dragon." He spoke with a voice full of bitterness. "What good will come of it anyway? When I break, their just going to throw me out and replace me with a new slave. I'm nothing but their tool of entertainment. Nothing more, nothing less." He added in a cracked whisper.

Sabo and Ace fell silent.

"I forget when I actually dared to dream." He stared up at the ceiling of the cell. "I wanted to become Pirate King. The man with the most freedom in the world." He actually smiled genuinely this time. Sabo and Ace looked at him in surprise.

"You wanted to be a pirate?" Sabo asked.

Luffy nodded. "I promised the man who gave me my hat," Luffy grabbed the rim of his straw hat and his eyes softened, "that I would set sail, gather a crew, and become a great pirate." He let go of his hat. "But, that's all gone now. I can't do any of that. I can't keep my promise. It's all just a dream now. A painfully twisted dream. This is my reality. Freedom is just a beautiful lie." A line of beautiful tears streamed down his cheeks. He looked over to Ace and Sabo. His once dull eyes glowed with emotion. They were filled with sorrow, anguish, and despair. The first true feelings he had shown them the entire time they were talking. There was no hope left for him. He had already drowned a long time ago. He had sunk to the floor of the vast ocean, never to surface again. He spoke with a soft, shaky voice, "I was stupid, so stupid."

* * *

**Yo! I hope you liked the one-shot. I will probably make it a chapter story if you guys want. What would happen if Luffy started his journey from a slave ship? Hm? I guess he can relate to certain people *coughcoughnamiandrobincoughcough***

**Well, hope you liked it, and tell me if you want more!**


	2. Chapter 1: I'm glad I'm alive

**So, I got 3 really encouraging reviews and I decided to make this a chapter story. I made a few versions of this chapter and I finally settled on this one. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Sabo tipped a bowl of water against Luffy's mouth. The child coughed and choked down the liquid. Ace broke his piece of bread into small pieces and shoved them into Luffy's mouth.

"How long do you think he can keep this up?" Ace asked. Sabo shook his head.

"I don't know."

"I still don't understand." Ace growled. "Why would he help cover us up?"

* * *

"_Trying to escape, are we?" The Celestial Dragon said with his disgusting voice. The guards grabbed Sabo, Luffy, Ace's hands and chained them to their backs. "Now, whose idea was this?"_

_Ace gritted his teeth, "It was-"_

"_Me." Luffy glared up at the World Noble. "I came up with it, _sir_." Ace and Sabo both stared at Luffy in shock. "I tricked those two into coming with me."_

"_Did you, now?" The Celestial Dragon said. "Well, then. We need to give you the ultimate punishment for trying to escape again." He motioned for one of the guards to throw Sabo and Ace in their cells and the other guard dragged Luffy down the hall, following him._

* * *

Luffy coughed again and opened his eyes. "Hey, Sabo… Ace…"

"Hey, we're here." Sabo replied, relief flooding over him. "Are you feeling okay?"

Luffy shook his head. "I feel like going to throw up." He groaned and clutched his stomach. "My stomach hurts…"

"You were slashed by a knife and beat up really badly, so it's going to hurt for a few days." Sabo said.

Luffy nodded. The hand on his stomach pressed down harder. "How long was I out?"

"Two days." Ace said.

Luffy looked up at the two boys. "And they didn't throw me out? I'm surprised." He whispered.

"Well, they were going to…" Ace muttered.

* * *

"_He's not awake yet?" The Celestial Dragon mused. "Well then, he's no use to me. You, guard. Throw him out." _

"_Yes, sir." The guard was about to enter the cell before Ace stood up, in front of Luffy, protectively. _

"_I won't let you!" Ace shouted. "He served you since he was 7 for a whole year! And, you're just going to throw him out! You disgust me, with your stupid mouth!"_

"_How dare you, you filthy slave."_

"_Ace…" Sabo looked at his friends. He lifted Luffy's head off the cold, stone ground and glared up at the Celestial Dragon. "Give us a week. He'll be healed by then."_

"_Very well then." The Celestial Dragon glared. "But, I need to punish you two slaves for disobeying my orders. Guards, deal with them. I need to go before the sight of all these pitiful slaves make me sick."_

* * *

"Thanks." Luffy said.

"It's fine." Ace said. "Are you hungry? We have some bread left."

"What about you?" Luffy asked. "You… need to eat too, right?"

"You can have one and me and Ace will have half." Sabo said.

"But, I'm not allowed to eat until-"

"Who cares?" Ace cut in. "You took the blame for our mistake. It's the only thing we can do to repay you." Luffy's only reply was a blink of the eye. "Here." Ace broke of a small piece of the bread and shoved it into Luffy's mouth. Luffy chewed it and swallowed.

"I can feed myself…" Luffy took the piece of bread from Ace's hand and took a small bit out of it. He finished the piece of bread and closed his eyes. "I'm going to sleep now… Wake me up… when it's time… to go…" He yawned.

"You don't have to work for now." Sabo said. "None of us do, until a week. You have a week to recover, remember? We have to take care of you."

"You didn't have to do that for me, ya' know." Luffy whispered.

"You protected us, even though you didn't need to." Ace said. "It's our turn to take care of you." Ace and Sabo swore they saw Luffy's lips twitch into a smile for a second, before the boy fell asleep.

"You know, I like it a lot better when he's sleeping." Sabo said. "He's looks more carefree and human."

"Yeah." Ace agreed. "He actually looks kinda… cute…"

Sabo stared at him with fake shock. "Wow, Ace! I never thought I would hear something like that from you! Are you okay?"

"Shut up." A tick mark appeared on Ace's forehead. "We have a week to get him healed up. Is he going to make it?"

"He should." Sabo said. "Though, I'm worried about his cut getting infected. They didn't really give us anything except bandages."

"Well, I guess we should get some sleep too." Ace stretched out his arms and flopped onto the hard ground. "I'm tired. Good night." He said before falling asleep. Sabo did the same.

"Yeah, good night."

* * *

After the week had passed, they were forced to do chores again. Clean, cook, etc. One time, Luffy disobeyed again, and the guards beat him to the brink of losing consciousness. Ace and Sabo had to take care of him again. The next day, Luffy could barely stand, let alone do any chores. When the guards came, Ace and Sabo had defended Luffy to the point where they attacked the guards. The Celestial Dragon was pissed. They were dragged out of the cell. It was the first time Luffy had _yelled_ something with _emotion_. It was their names.

The Celestial Dragon beat them and they nearly passed out before being thrown back into their cell. Luffy was quiet the entire time, treating their injuries. When they woke up, Luffy asked them why they defended him. They replied, "Because you would do the same." He started crying.

Luffy started to act less like a machine around them, and more like a human. It was a lot easier being around him. It wasn't long until they started to act more like _friends_. Luffy started to smile more like he meant it. Ace and Sabo were happy to see the change. Luffy still had some hope.

* * *

"You can't throw him out! We won't let you!"

Luffy was suffering. He was extremely ill. The Celestial Dragon didn't even give a shit about helping him, which made Sabo and Ace disgusted. What made it even worst, Luffy wouldn't be able to keep any food down, and he could only handle about half a bowl of water. He threw up more than he ate. He wouldn't be able to sleep for long, and he would always be tired. He would be hungry and not able to eat, thirsty but not able to drink, tired but not able to sleep. It was painful to watch.

"One week." Was all the Celestial Dragon said before leaving.

Sabo lifted Luffy's head off the ground and placed him on his lap. Ace sat down next to Luffy and picked up a piece of bread from the ground. "Hey, Lu." There was no answer. Ace gritted his teeth. Luffy didn't like being called 'Lu'. The fact that he didn't even bother to answer made Ace uneasy. "How long will this last? We only have a week before they throw him out."

"I don't know." Sabo said. "Hey, Luffy. Can you hear us?"

Luffy barely nodded. "Yeah…" He whispered.

"How're you feeling?" Sabo asked.

"Stomach hurts… Head hurts…" He groaned. "Can't move…"

"Yeah. Sorry, Luffy." Sabo said. "Do you think you can eat anything?" Luffy shook his head. "Drink anything?" Luffy shook his head again. Sabo gritted his teeth. "Can you try?" Luffy turned his head to looked at the piece of bread in Ace's hand.

"Maybe…" He whispered. Ace broke off a small piece of the bread and fed it to Luffy. He chewed and swallowed. "No more…"

"Okay." Ace broke the piece of bread in half and handed on half to Sabo. "We should eat it before it's stale." Sabo took the piece of bread and stared at it. Then shoved it into his mouth. Ace did the same. "How about some water, Lu?"

Luffy shook his head. "No more…"

Ace bit on the bottom of his lip. "Okay. Make sure to tell us if you need something, okay? Anything at all."

"Sure…" Luffy whispered.

* * *

The guards came in with a new slave the next day. They threw her into the cell next to theirs. She probably wasn't branded yet. Slaves usually come back looking dead after they were branded. Her head turned to looked at Sabo, Ace, and Luffy. Ace and Sabo both wrapped their arms defensively around Luffy, who shifted. She walked over to the bars keeping the two cells apart. She sat down. "Hey."

"What do you want?" Ace glared.

"Ace, don't be rude." Sabo said.

"What're your names?" She asked.

"It's common courtesy to say your name first before asking another." Sabo said.

"Really? How rude of me." She smirked. "I'm Akiko. An apprentice nurse on Whitebeard's Crew. How about you?"

"Sabo." Sabo dipped his head curtly. Ace grumbled.

"What a temper." She said. "Who're those two?" She pointed at Ace and Luffy.

"That's Ace, my brother." Sabo pointed at Ace.

"Who's the little kid?" Akiko asked. "You're sister?"

"No. He's also our brother." Sabo said. "He's Luffy."

Akiko raised an eyebrow. "You three don't look like blood brothers."

"Just because we aren't related doesn't mean we aren't brothers!" Ace growled.

Akiko held her hands up in a surrendering fashion. "Okay, okay. I get it. You're brothers. Don't have to go yell me out." She looked over to Luffy. "What's up with the midget?"

"He's sick…" Sabo hesitated.

"And you're taking care of him by yourselves?" Akiko asked. Sabo nodded. "Bring him over here."

"Why?" Ace asked, cautiously.

"Because, I'm a nurse." She snapped. "And I know things." Sabo and Ace looked at each other. Sabo then carried Luffy over to Akiko. She gritted her teeth. "At this rate, he won't make it to next week. What have you guys been feeding him?"

"Bread."

"Not good. He needs things like vegetables and fruits." Akiko said. "What do they feed you here?"

"Bread and a bowl of water." Sabo said.

"That little?" Akiko asked. "I know someone who would get pissed off if he heard that." He felt Luffy's forehead. "He's burning. How long had he been like this?"

"Two days." Sabo said. "It caught up with him yesterday."

"Not good." Akiko said. "I'll have to have Chiasa take a look at him when they come for me."

"How do you know they will come for you?" Ace gave her a distrusting gaze. "What if they just leave you?"

"They won't." Akiko said. "Cause, you see. I'm the little radar they need to follow." She winked. "We plan to free our brothers and sisters who were caught. But, they had no idea where the slave ship was going. So, I was bait of the slave ship. They followed the slave ship to here. They're going to raid tomorrow morning."

"Are you serious?" Ace asked.

"Positive." Akiko said.

Ace and Sabo looked at each other, then to Luffy. Their eyes held mixed emotions. Luffy coughed a bit and opened his eyes. "Lu, you're awake."

"Yeah… Did I miss… anything?" Luffy asked, yawning.

"We're going to get out of here, Luffy!" Sabo grinned. "We're going to be free!"

"..." Luffy was speechless. "Sabo, I already told you guys that escaping-"

"No, there's going to be a raid tomorrow morning!" Ace exclaimed. "They're going to set us free."

"If you're joking…"

"We're not joking, right?" Sabo looked at Akiko.

"Right." She smiled. "I would never lie about something this serious."

Luffy turned his head over the Akiko, his eyes were wide. He looked at Ace, then to Sabo. His buried his face into Sabo's chest and started to cry. "I can't believe it… I'm going to be free…" After such a long time, he was going to be free. It was the best thing that could happen to him. Freedom. Akiko smiled fondly as Ace and Sabo pulled a crying Luffy into a tight hug. "Do you think I can keep my promise now?"

"Yeah, you can." Ace and Sabo said.

"I'm glad I'm alive." Luffy whispered.

* * *

"Thatch, you'll take them around and bust in the other way. They can't hold us all off if we come in too many ways,yoi Akiko will know where the keys are. Find her. When we free our brothers and sisters, grab them right away. We can't take any detours or the marines will show up before we the leave the island, yoi"

"Got it, Pineapple!"

"I told you to stop calling me that,yoi"

"Right, flaming chicken!"

"Thatch!"

* * *

**I have mixed feelings about this chapter... hmm.**

**So, here's the continuation you've all been waiting for! It you checked my profile, you knew that I wouldn't just leave this a one-shot. Can't leave ya'll hanging, can I? I was going to, but that would be mean XD **

**My Demon Side: Riena, leave them hanging for weeks.**

**My Angel Side: No, you piece of shit! Don't do that! Do you realize how much shit people are going to give for doing that? Don't be a jerk!**

**Yeah, my angel side won that one (partly because it was cussing me out). But my demon side made mo roll with the idea of this story *demon face* Anyway, if you read my other story, Another Chance, you'll realize that my nurse names in there were also Chiasa and Akiko. I was too lazy to make new names, so I stuck with it. Yeah. So, hope you like the chapter!**

**BYE!**

**Blueh: I hope I used the potential correctly. I was so mean to little Luffy in this chapter DX But, I'll be nicer to him later :D Jail break! Not really, but really soon they'll have their deserved FREEDOM! Yes, and Luffy can relate to so many others. For example, Boa and her sisters. Thx for the long, encouraging review!**

**Otaku-chan: I will fufill your wish! Hope you liked the chapter!**

**BlackGryphon101: Wow. I'm glad you think it's better than half the stories on the sight. It really makes me feel happy to write :D Yes, we just love to torture them more in fanfiction. I'm a potential sadist to all my favorite characters. It's sad. Well, Whitebeard to the rescue! I figured, if Ace was going to join the Whitebeard Pirates sooner or later, might as well sooner. Hope you liked the chapter!**


	3. Chapter 2: We can fly again

**I'm back! Sorry this chapter took so long. I never thought writing a raid would be this hard! Argh! The raid was a pain to write, but I enjoyed it. SLAVES REBEL! Well, here's the next chapter!**

**I didn't proof read this, cause I was lazy, so I'll do it later. Try pointing it out, of you see any errors**

**Note: Akiko is 16 years old, Chiasa is 27 years old**

* * *

"IT'S A RAID! STOP THEM FROM FREEING THE SLAVES!" Guards charged down the halls to where the stone walls crumbled.

"Raid?" Ace opened his eyes and sat up, yawning. "Is it morning?"

"Looks like you finally woke up, sleepy head." Akiko's voice said. Ace turned to see her looking down the hallway. "They're here. Wake your brothers up."

Ace nodded. "Right." He shook Sabo's shoulder. "Hey, Sabo! It's a raid! Get up!"

Sabo smacked Ace's hand away and sat up. "Okay, okay. I'm up!" He rubbed his eyes.

"Luffy." Ace gently tapped Luffy in the shoulder. "Wake up. It's the raid."

Luffy opened his eyes. He coughed. "Raid? They came?" Luffy tried sitting up, but he failed terribly. "I don't think I can stand…" He winced.

"Don't worry about it." Sabo said.

Akiko brightened up suddenly. "Hey, Thatch! Over here!" Ace and Sabo looked down the hall. The guards were failing horribly at holding off a group of rampaging pirates. A man-Thatch- kicked a guard out of the way and ran up to Akiko's cell.

"Hey, Akiko." Thatch said. "Where's the keys?"

"It's over there." Akiko pointed at the wall, there the keys hung from a hook. A guard tried to rush Thatch, but Thatch just punched his aside and unlocked Akiko's cell. "Now get my cuffs off." She whined.

"Hai, hai." Thatch unlocked Akiko's cuffs and the pieces of metal fell on the ground. Akiko rubbed her sore wrists and got up.

"Thanks." Akiko grinned and grabbed the keys from Thatch's hand. She unlocked the cell for Ace, Sabo, and Luffy and unlocked their shackles. "Let's hurry up and go."

"Right." Ace hoisted Luffy on his back.

"Akiko." Thatch said. "Where are the others?"

"They're way down the hall." Akiko said.

Thatch pulled a den den mushi out of his pocket. "Hey, Marco. The others are to the right of where you busted in."

"Got it, yoi."

Thatch shoved the den den mushi into his pocket. "Let's go." Thatch threw the keys into one of the slaves cells. "Get yourselves out of here." He said. The slaves nodded in gratitude and started unlocking their shackles and the cell. The slaves started to unlock this other cells. Thatch and Akiko started running, and Ace and Sabo followed. Ace and Sabo hadn't felt this alive in a while. The escape was mostly a blur of punches, kicks, slashing, and screaming. Everything was so fast, Ace couldn't keep up. But, Sabo and Ace kept running, making sure not to lose sight of Akiko, who was actually pretty fast, for a nurse. Thatch called the other pirates who were fighting to follow them.

"Ace…" Luffy whispered. "Can… can we take a break…"

"We're almost there, Lu." Ace assured. "We're almost out. Hang in there, okay?"

"Okay…" Luffy whispered. "I… told you to stop calling me 'Lu'..."

"Yeah." Ace smirked.

"Ace, hurry up!" Sabo shouted.

"Alright, alright! I'm going!" Ace ran faster. All the other slaves were rioting. They were out of their cells and fighting the guards like their lives depended on it (which was probably true). Ace and Sabo could see the light shining through the hole in the wall. They were almost there. Time to slow down as soon as they felt the grass underneath their feet. The air. It was fresh. The sun was actually there. The sky. They could see it. "This is it…" Ace whispered. He grinned and looked at Sabo, who grinned back. They both looked at Luffy, who smiled weakly.

"We're free!"

* * *

"Hurry up and get into the ship!" Thatch shouted. The Whitebeards, Ace, and Sabo jumped on the boats. Thatch jumped on, and they were greeted by another group. Ace, Sabo, and Luffy recognized some of their faces. Most notably, they had caused a huge ruckus on the first day by creating a mini riot. "Is that all of them?"

"That's all, yoi. Let's get out of here." A man with pineapple shaped hair said.

"Right!" The Whitebeards started rowing the boats out to the ocean. A huge ship appeared off the coast. The Whitebeards started shouting and waving.

The Whitebeards rowed faster and in a matter of minutes, they reached the huge ship and someone dropped a ladder down. "Climb up!" Someone shouted. The Whitebeards started climbing up the ladder. Akiko pushed them towards the ladder.

"Hurry up!" She smiled. "You're free." Ace and Sabo smiled and started climbing. Ace made sure Luffy wouldn't fall off his back. They set their feet on the ship's deck.

"Who are you three, yoi?" The man with the pineapple shaped hair asked. Ace and Sabo gritted their teeth and glared up at the man.

"They're with me!" Akiko bopped the Ace and Sabo on the head. "I found them in the slave place." She pulled on Ace's cheek. "Aren't they cute?" She chirped. The pineapple man sighed.

"I'm not your plaything, woman!" Ace said, trying to pry Akiko's hand away.

"We need to get you to the infirmary." Akiko started dragging them away.

"Why?" Ace asked.

"Your brother needs some help, obviously." Akiko rolled her eyes. "Also, you two need a check up. Staying in that hell hole must have done something to you."

"Oh." Ace and Sabo said. Akiko dragged them down some stairs and down a hallway. "We're here!" Akiko opened the door and shoved Ace and Sabo in. "Chiasa~" She sang.

"Akiko!" A nurse with brown hair looked over from her desk. "You're back!"

"Yep!" Akiko gave her a thumbs up.

Chiasa sighed. "Honestly, I was worried. You should have let one of the others do it instead."

Akiko stuck her tongue out. "Well, too bad." Akiko said. She pointed towards Ace, Sabo, and Luffy. "I need you to take care of these three." She shoved Ace and Sabo forward. She took Luffy and placed him on the infirmary bed. "You two stay here. I'm leaving!" Akiko was just about to skip out the door, but Chiasa stopped her.

"You're staying here, Akiko." Chiasa said.

"But, Chiasa!" Akiko whined. "I wanna see Oyaji!"

"You can do that later." Chiasa ordered. "You're staying here."

"Stingy!" Akiko huffed, but didn't object.

"I'll take care of this little guy." Chiasa pointed towards Luffy. "You take a look at those two." Chiasa stood up from her desk and walked over to Luffy.

"Okay." Akiko grabbed Ace and Sabo to Chiasa's desk and shoved them into two chairs. "Now, I'm going to give you a basic check up. If you're uncomfortable in any way, you can tell me and I'll stop anything I'm doing." Ace and Sabo nodded. It was surprising how Akiko just switched to serious mode in less than a second. "I'm going to check your heartbeat first. Can you take your shirt off?" She grabbed a stethoscope from the desk. Ace and Sabo's faces slightly redden at the mention of taking their shirt off for a girl. "Look," Akiko said. "I know it's awkward, but it's only for a minute or so. Just do it." Ace and Sabo nodded. They removed their shirts. Akiko wore the stethoscope and placed the end on Ace's chest. "Okay, so just take a deep breath and let it out." Ace did as told. "Kay, turned around." Sabo gave her a look. "Sit on your chair backwards or something." Ace did so. Akiko placed the stethoscope on Ace's back. "Now do the same thing." Ace breathed in, then out. "Okay, now put your shirt on." Akiko said. Ace grabbed his shirt and quickly put it on. His face was slightly pink. Sabo snickered on the inside. Akiko flicked Sabo on the forehead. "Your turn." She said. She did the same thing for Sabo. Sabo quickly put on his shirt after the check up. Akiko did a few more things, like testing their reflexes, asking a few questions, and they were done. "Okay! Done!" Akiko exclaimed. "Now I can go see Oyaji~" She was just about to skip out the door, but Chiasa's voice stopped her again.

"Akiko, you're staying here." Chiasa ordered.

"Chiasaaaa!" Akiko moaned.

"Akikoooo!" Chiasa mimicked.

"Fine!" Akiko walked back to Chiasa's desk and plopped down into her chair.

"Hey, I need to give his kid a shot." Chiasa said. Akiko seemed to already know which type so she opened the cabinet, grabbed a syringe, a needle, an alcohol wipe, and a bottle with liquid inside. Akiko hand Chiasa the things. "I'm surprised this kid is still alive." She said, attaching the needle to the syringe tip.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ace asked.

Chiasa filled the syringe and cleaned the spot where the shot was going to be. "His body is pretty weak. He looks like he took a lot of beatings too. A lot of them are recent." Ace and Sabo gritted their teeth. It was partly their fault. For some reason, Luffy always covered for their mistakes. One time they had dropped some fruit on the ground, Luffy picked it up and took the blame. When they spilled some liquid on the floor, Luffy took the blame. When they didn't do their chores properly, Luffy took the blame. It started to get aggravating, how many times Luffy covered them up. "How long since he's been sick?"

"3 days."

"Hey, how many times has he gotten sick?"

"Um, a few times…" Sabo said.

"He might have a weak immune system as well." Chiasa stuck the needle into Luffy's arm and pushed the top down, draining the fluid into his arm. Luffy flinched and let out a groaned. "It's okay. Just a shot." Chiasa said. Luffy shifted and his pained expression when away as the shot was removed. "What did they do to this kid?" Chiasa muttered, under her breath.

"Is he okay?" Sabo asked.

"He will be." Chiasa said. "Just give his a day or two, and he'll be fine."

"That's good." Ace and Sabo sighed.

"Can I go now?" Akiko asked.

"You can." Chiasa said.

Akiko grabbed Ace and Sabo by the wrists and dragged them out the door. "Let's go meet Oyaji, you two!" She cheered and ran down the hall, forgetting to close the infirmary door.

"Hey, Akiko! Who's Oyaji?" Ace asked.

"The captain!" Akiko ran up the stairs, and to the front deck. Ace and Sabo's mouths gaped when they saw a huge figure sitting on an equally huge chair. "Oyaji!" Akiko let go of Ace and Sabo and went to hug the huge man around the legs.

"How's my daughter doing?" The man asked.

"Great!" Akiko exclaimed.

"Gurarara!"

"Hey, Akiko." The pineapple man said. "Check on everyone we got back."

Akiko stuck her tongue. "Take them to Chiasa. I have two little kids to take care of." She let go of 'Oyaji' and dragged Ace and Sabo so they were facing him. "This is Ace and Sabo." She pointed. "I found them in the slave place, along with their other brother. He's with Chiasa." Akiko ruffed their hair. "They're cute, right? I wanna keep them!"

"We're not your slaves, women!" Ace shouted.

"Sorry, sorry!" Akiko held her hands up in surrender. "I was just making a joke." Ace grumbled something that no one could catch.

"Hello." Sabo said. "I'm Sabo. That's my brother, Ace. It's nice to meet you… er… Oyaji."

"Gurararara!" 'Oyaji' laughed. "It's nice to meet you too, brats. Most people know me as Edward Newgate, Whitebeard. But, my sons and daughters call me Oyaji."

"Is everyone here your family?" Ace looked around at the amount of pirates on deck. That was a lot…

"We're not blood related." Thatch said, popping out of nowhere. "But, we're still a family."

"Just like you and your brothers." Akiko added.

"I see." Sabo said.

"Let's introduced ourselves properly." Thatch said. "I'm Thatch. 4th division commander of the Whitebeard Pirates. I'm also the head chef."

"Your hair is weird…" Ace mused. That made Thatch depressed. The commander curled into a ball and started sulking. "Wha- What did I do?"

"Don't worry about it." Akiko facepalmed.

"I'm Marco." The pineapple man said. "I'm the 1st division commander, or first mate of the Whitebeard Pirates, yoi."

"You have a funny accent, _yoi_." Ace said. "That _is_ weird. Yoi…"

"You look like a pineapple." Sabo said.

"Yes, I know that I look like a pineapple, yoi." Marco said, a tick mark appearing on his forehead.

"I think I'll dub you as 'Pineapple head'." Ace concluded.

Thatch instantly came out of depressed mode and started laughing. "I love these kids!"

"My name is Marco, yoi." Marco said. "Mar-co."

"You can also call him 'Flaming Chicken'." Akiko smirked.

"Flaming Chicken!" Sabo and Ace said at the same time.

"Keep these two away from me, yoi…" Marco started walking away.

"I don't want to!" Akiko and Thatch giggle, uncontrollably.

Ace and Sabo blinked a few times and looked at each other.

"Gurararara!" Whitebeard laughed. "Cheeky little brats, aren't you? Well, then! I guess you brats and your brother are going to be stuck with us for a while! Thatch, why don't you find them a room."

"Right!" Thatch did a mock salute and started walking along. "Come on, you two. I'm going to get you a room!"

Ace and Sabo nodded and followed Thatch. They went down the stairs and walked down the hall in awkward silence, which made Ace and Sabo a little uncomfortable. "So…" Thatch said.

"Um…" Sabo said. "What's the ship called?" He asked, trying to start a conversation.

"The Moby Dick." Thatch answered. Well, not much of a conversation…

"Why do you call him Oyaji?" Ace asked. There was a good question!

"You mean Whitebeard?" Thatch asked. "Because he calls us his sons. We're all a family, and he gave us a place where we were loved. No one here is lesser than anyone else."

"Oh." Ace said. _Because he calls them his son, huh…_ Sabo saw the expression on Ace's face and smiled.

* * *

**So... Nothing to say here... JAILBREAK! **

**Responses:**

**PirateDragon121: Thx! Hope you liked the update!**

**TrafalgarLawxKikoku: It's just the 'Chopper cute' kinda cute :3 **

**Otaku-chan: The FEELS! ('Herp'? lol) Thx!**

**Valeria Aurelia: Yeah, I made the music match up with the scenes. That candle tho XD Hope you liked the update!**

**Blueh: Hope you liked the update! Yep, Thatch's reaction. I'll have Chiasa break the news to him, and I promise he'll go ballistic CX**

**lany-chan: JAILBREAK!**

**Guest: Thx for the advice, and thx for the compliments :D**

**Vivianne95: Udpated!**

**inulover35: Answered your question at the top. Glad you liked it!**


	4. Chapter 3: The scars from our past

**Note: Ace-11, Sabo-11, Luffy-8 1/2 (I think I did my math correctly... Whatever. I suck at math, so yeah.)**

* * *

"Luffy!" Sabo and Ace jumped on the bed and tackled Luffy, who let out a surprised yelp. "You're better!"

"Yeah…" Luffy shifted into a sitting position on the bed. "Where are we?"

"We're on Whitebeard's ship." Ace said. "Chiasa and Akiko helped you get better."

"Chiasa?" Luffy turned his head to see a lady with brown hair sitting beside the bed.

"I'm Chiasa." The lady said. "I'm the head nurse on this ship. Are you feeling any better?"

Luffy only gave her a slight nod before turning back to Ace and Sabo. "So, we're free…?" Ace and Sabo nodded. Luffy brushed his hand over his mark, but was surprised when it didn't touch his skin. He turned his head towards his mark. It was wrapped in bandages. "Wha…"

"You can't see them any more." Ace showed Luffy his bandaged marked and so did Sabo. "As long as they're like this, we don't have to worry about them." Luffy nodded.

"I'm glad you're better, Luffy." Luffy turned his head to the door, where Akiko and two other people were standing. One had lazy eyes and pineapple hair, the other had light brown hair was was in a weird style, like a pompadour.

"I'm Marco, yoi." The pineapple man said. "I'm the 1st division commander, or first mate of the Whitebeard Pirates, yoi."

_Yoi?_ Luffy mused, but he didn't dare say it out loud.

"I'm Thatch!" The man with the pompadour hair exclaimed. "I'm the 4th division commander and head chef. Nice to meet you!"

"Um, I'm Luffy." Luffy said.

"Hey, Luffy." Ace said. "Let's go meet Whitebeard. He wants to ask you an important question." Luffy merely nodded. He jumped out of the bed and Ace and Sabo did the same.

"I can't wait till you become part of the family!" Akiko squealed, walking out the door, with Marco and Thatch. Ace and Sabo followed, pulling Luffy along with them. They ran up the stairs and Ace and Sabo dragged Luffy until he was standing in front of a huge man with a white, banana looking mustache. Luffy seemed unfazed by the man's sized, but on the inside, he was fearful inside. What were they going to do?

"So, this brother you two brats were talking about." The man had a huge grin on his face. "My name is Edward Newgate, Whitebeard. My sons and daughters call me Oyaji."

"My name is Luffy." Luffy slightly bowed.

"Ask him already." Ace said, impatiently.

"Brat." Whitebeard tried to sound annoyed, but his huge smile blew it. "Luffy, I'm going to ask you an important question. Do you want to be a part of our family?"

"Family?" Luffy asked.

"Come on, Luffy." Sabo said. "Let's join."

"Can I be a part of the family, but not be on the crew?" Luffy asked. They stared at him.

"Why do you ask?" Whitebeard asked, quite amused.

"Because…" Luffy took a deep breath. "I can't be Pirate King unless I'm captain!" He blurted out. Ace and Sabo blinked at him.

_Did he really just say that?_ Ace and Sabo were generally surprised. For the time they've known Luffy, they never thought he would say something like that.

"Pirate King, eh?" Whitebeard said. "Gurararara! You're an interesting brat, aren't you? Of course you can still be a part of the family. No matter what you do, you'll still be a part of our family, Luffy."

Luffy stared up at Whitebeard, then to Ace and Sabo. They gave him a thumbs up. "Okay."

* * *

"This is your room." Thatch said. Ace and Sabo ran in and dragged Luffy along with them.

"Great room, right Luffy?" Ace asked. Luffy nodded. He was mostly expecting a cold, dread-like room, like their cell. He didn't expect a room with wooden walls, and floor. He didn't expect the warm feeling either. He looked around there was a desk with a chair. And a bed. Luffy walked over to the bed and pressed down on the mattress. It was soft and cushiony.

"I like it." Luffy smiled.

"I'm glad." Thatch said. "You guys should get some sleep. Make sure to wake up for breakfast tomorrow." Thatch closed the door, leaving the three in the room.

"We should go to sleep." Ace said, yawning. "Lu, you can use the bed."

"I don't need to use the bed. You two can." Luffy said. "And, stop calling me Lu."

"Well, you haven't slept in a bed in a long time, right?" Sabo asked. "It's only fair. Besides, we just slept on it for the last two days you were in the infirmary."

"How about we sleep on it together?" Luffy insisted. He didn't want Ace and Sabo sleeping on the hard, cold ground because he decided to take the comfy spot.

Ace sighed. "Fine, if you want."

* * *

Luffy opened his eyes and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Where was he? In a bed? Oh yeah, they were free. He smiled. They were free. He looked at his bandaged shoulder. Well, not completely free. As long as he had that mark, even if he couldn't see it, he belonged to _them_. Until one of them died, he wasn't completely free. But, I was still nice to be out of that hellhole. He looked at Ace and Sabo, who were sleeping soundly, half the blanket kicked over the bed. Deciding not to wake them up, Luffy silently got out of bed and tip toed to the door. He opened it a crack and slipped through, closing is silently behind him. He quietly walked past the doors of the rooms in the hall. His smelled the delicious aroma of food and following it to the second door to the end of the hallway, next to the stairs. He opened a crack in the door and slid through, closing it behind him. He looked around. The room was huge. There was a counter in front and rows of tables and chairs. The aroma was coming from behind the counter. He made his way through the tables and chairs to the counter and climbed up one of the chairs. He looked over the counter and saw Thatch cooking at a stove, humming to himself, seemingly not noticing him. Thatch closed the stove and grabbed a few sausages with a spatula, placing them on a plate. He added some eggs from another pan and some potatoes. he poured some type of sauce over the potatoes. He placed a piece of some type of bread on the plate and walked over to the counter, placing the plate on it. He also grabbed a fork and placed it next to the plate.

"Hungry?" He asked. Luffy was surprised the Thatch had notice him, but slowing nodded. Thatch smiled and pushed the plate towards him. "Eat up."

Luffy stared at his plate and then the fork, then to Thatch. "For me?"

"Yes, for you." Thatch said.

"It's a lot…" Luffy mused, aloud. He had never received this much food in the cell. He had gotten used to not eating for possibly days or weeks. It wasn't very special for the Celestial Dragons to starve him. After all, he was their worst _pet_. Like a wild dog, not listening to his master's commander no matter the cost.

"What? You can't eat that much?" Thatch asked.

Luffy looked up and shook his head, snapping him from his thoughts. He took the piece of bread of the plate and started nibbling on it.

"You know, you look a lot like a hamster when you're eating like that." Thatch joked.

_You're my little prized hamster now…_

"I'm not your pet!" Luffy growled.

"I never said that! Sorry!" Thatch held his hands up in surrender. Luffy shot Thatch one last glared before eating the rest of his bread.

"Good morning~" Two sleepy voice came from the door. Luffy turned around and saw Sabo and Ace walking towards the counter.

"Oh, hey Luffy." Ace waved, drowsily. "We were wondering where you were."

"More like, you were panicking until I told you he was probably here." Sabo pointed out.

"Hey, I didn't panic!" Ace shouted, shark-teethed.

"Yeah, you were." Sabo snickered. "You were like-" Before Sabo could say anything else, Ace jumped on Sabo and the two started to have a mini wrestling match.

Luffy jumped off his stool and walked over to the wrestling pair, breaking them apart. "I don't think I want to listen to Ace panicking, and I don't want to hear you mimic him, Sabo. You're terrible."

Ace let out a huff and Sabo was still giggling from the memory of Ace panicking.

"Hey, you two going to stand there all day or do you want to eat?" Thatch asked from behind the counter. There were already two more plates of food waiting for them.

"Food!" Sabo and Ace instantly appeared on their stools and started eating. Luffy came shortly after.

"Is Luffy always breaking up your fights?" Thatch asked, amused.

"A'tually," Sabo said, with his mouth full. "Asce an' Luffy a' a'ways ha'in mini arguemen's an' 'm the one wh' breaks them."

"Really?"

"Well, it usually ends up in them calling each other idiots." Sabo finished, gulping down his chews food.

"Hey, he's an idiot." Ace defended himself.

"I have a bigger IQ than you." Luffy mumbled, sticking another fork-full of food into his mouth.

"So what? You're still an idiot." Ace countered, a tick mark forming on his forehead.

"It take an idiot to know one." Luffy said, calmly. A tick mark was also forming on his forehead and his was bending his fork with all the pressure he was placing on the metal.

"Okay, okay. We're all idiots! How about that?" Sabo butted in, quickly. Luffy and Ace locked eyes for a second, but continued eating like nothing happened. Sabo sighed. "I have to deal with this about everyday."

Thatch chuckled. "Hey, Luffy." He said. "You only mentioned your first name. Do you have a sir name of something?"

"Hm?" Luffy looked up from his food. "Uh, yeah. My full name is Monkey D. Luffy."

"Monkey D?" Thatch asked. "Like Monkey D. Garp?"

Luffy swallowed the rest of his food and placed his plate on the counter. "I'm going back to my room. Thanks for the food, Thatch. It was really good." He jumped off his stool and ran out the door. Thatch, Ace, and Sabo stared after him, not bothering to call him back.

_What just happened?_

* * *

"Hey, Luffy. What do you know about Monkey D. Garp?" Ace asked.

"Nothing."

"Luffy."

"I'm serious."

"You can tell us, Luffy." Ace said. "You can tell us anything. We're brothers, aren't we?"

Luffy bit the bottom of his lip. "Monkey D. Garp is my grandpa…" Sabo and Ace stared at him dumbly, wondering his their brains had processed the information properly. Did he just say Monkey D. Garp was his GRANDPA!?

"What!?" Ace and Sabo shouted, leaving an awkward silence in its wake.

After a few seconds, Luffy spoke again. "He's a good grandpa, really." He stated. "I know that he cares about me. And, I care about him, too." Luffy untied his straw hat from his neck and hugged it against his chest. "But, he's would always tell me I was going to be a strong marine and he would make me do a bunch of crazy things. I don't think he knows it, but it really hurt me." His eyes were shadowed by his bangs. "He would kick me down a cliff and make me climb up again. he would tie me to some balloons and send me into the sky. He would leave me in the jungle during thunderstorms and make me fight all the wild animals. In the winter, he left me in the cold woods and told me I needed to learn 'winter survival'."

Ace and Sabo both felt like giving that crazy, old gorilla a beating the next time they met. "That's not right…" Sabo whispered. "How old were you?"

"He started to train me when I was five…" Luffy answered. "I would really like to make him proud of me. Since I was such a clutz back then, it was hard to have him praise me." He smiled. "I really liked it when he would just pat me on the head and tell me 'That's my grandson!' He said it like he was so proud of me and I would feel so happy." Ace and Sabo brightened up inside. The old man had a good side. "Then I told him I was going to become a pirate." Luffy gritted his teeth. Ace and Sabo knew what was coming. "He would make my training harder and beat me up with him 'Fist of Love' and tell me that pirates were trash and I would become a strong marine. He barely praised me after that." Luffy placed his strawhat in his head and stucked in his bottom lip. "And he started to stop acting like he cared. I knew he still care about me, even though he abused me all the time, but I really wanted him to show it." A tear streamed down Luffy's cheek. Ace and Sabo sat on the bed with Luffy. "When Shanks left, the slave traders found me in the forest and took me away. I never saw gramps again." He sniffled a bit. "When he went back to the island and found out I was missing, he must have been so worried. I can't even imagine how he must have felt." Ace and Sabo remembered how the old man was acting on one of his visit. To say the least, he was… not doing so great. Luffy started breaking down into Ace and Sabo's arms and pulling his strawhats down on his head to shield his eyes. "Neh, when I see him again on the sea, I don't know what I would do…"

"How about a huge hug for starters." Ace suggested.

"Yeah…"

* * *

"What do you mean he's not going to make it to the sea?!" Akiko shouted.

Chiasa blocked her mouth before her screaming reached other rooms. "He can make it to the sea, it's just that his immune system won't be able to protect him from some of the disease you can catch on the ocean. If he can't defend against these diseases, he'll get sick, a lot."

"But he can still sail?"

"Right, but I'll just say this. He'll need a strong crew that's ready for a weak captain."

* * *

**I am done! Sorry for the lateness on this chapter. I have a two day vacation, there was not wifi, which means, not typing for me, and I was dying. (Stupid sand mountains and a 45000 mile hiking trail. I'm so SORE!) But, I hope you liked this chapter!**

**There's probably some errors somewhere because I just quickly ran it through on proofreading. (Just going to skip all those names that're underlined... Wait a second. What do you mean 'sighed' isn't a word!?)**

**Responses:**

**Otaku-chan: The feels can't be comprehended! lol I assure you that I'm not magical. I can barely do a push-up, but you don't need to know that...**

**TraflagarLawxKikoku: Marco! Yoi! I just love that accent. Yoi, yoi, yoi, yoi...**

**Ace ****Portgas D: The update is here!**

**Guest: Yes, the nicknames! Marco shall never escape its wrath XD Hope you liked the chapter!**

**inulover305: Yep! Luffy's not in that place anymore! Woohoo!**

**Anonymous: Thx!**

**general yumi: Well, I'll explained why Luffy took the blame later on. I usually don't leave things unexplained :) That immune system problem will play a part in this story, as you can see. The note tell the age of Ace, Sabo, and Luffy.**


	5. Chapter 4: Broken Wings

**I just made this chapter for the fluff of it (see what I did there?)**

* * *

Ace said, sitting on the edge of Luffy's bed, feet swung over the edge. He was the only one in the infirmary with Luffy right now. They were stopping at an island and Sabo wanted to see the town. Ace had urged him to go, even though the blond wanted to stay with Ace and Luffy. Sabo eventually gave up to Ace's urging and went with Marco, into town. Speaking of Luffy, the boy had a cold for two days now. It wasn't as bad, now that Luffy had someone as skilled as Chiasa to treat him. Chiasa had told them about Luffy's weak immune system and how he would get sick more often. Chiasa told them she and Akiko would do as much as they could to strengthen his immune system so he could set sail when it was time. Of course, Luffy probably already knew about this, but he didn't say anything about it, which they thought was a good thing. Chiasa said Luffy would probably be out of bed the next day, which was great. Luffy was snuggled up with his pillow and blanket, still getting used to having something soft to sleep on.

"Hey, Luffy." Ace said.

"Hm?" Luffy opened his eyes to look at Ace.

"Oh, sorry. Did I wake you up?" Ace apologized.

Luffy shook his head. "No, I was already awake. Did you need anything?"

Ace sighed. Luffy was still in the habit of asking if he needed to do anything, even when he was sick. "Well, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Sure." Luffy yawned.

"Why don't you ever laugh." Ace asked. Luffy tensed up. "I mean, I've seen you smile, but you never laughed, for real."

"Laugh?" Luffy hugged his pillow. "Well, I always thought my laugh sounded really weird, and we weren't allowed to laugh or anything back then…"

"Hey, no one's laugh sounds weird." Ace said. "Look at Oyaji. His laugh sounds like 'Gurarararara'!" Ace tried to use a deep voice for Whitebeard's laugh, but failed horribly.

"That was terrible." Luffy mused.

"Well, I'd like to see you do any better, Mister Ican'tlaugh!" Ace spat. Luffy shifted. "Sorry." Ace said.

"It's fine." Luffy whispered. "I'm going to sleep now. Good night."

"It's the afternoon." Ace said.

"Whatever."

* * *

"Sabo, we're going to make Luffy laugh!" Ace declared out of nowhere. Chiasa had kick them out of the infirmary and back to their rooms because they were making a mess.

"Make Luffy laugh?" Sabo asked. "Why?"

"Come on." Ace said. "Have you ever heard Luffy laugh before? We only saw him smile about 3 times. _3 times_ Sabo. He needs to loosen up."

"Do you have an idea?" Sabo asked.

Ace scratched the back of his head. "Well, I don't." Sabo facepalmed. "But, that's where you come in! We're going to try to prank Marco!"

Sabo stared at Ace, then burst out laughing. "Prank Marco? You really think that'll work?"

"Hey!" Ace countered. "If we make Luffy see it, he'll definitely laugh if it's ridiculous enough."

Sabo took a few more breaths to calm down. "Okay, I got an idea." He and Ace started to snicker to each other while coming up with their amazing plan.

* * *

Luffy woke up, yawning and sitting up. He felt a lot better today. He was supposed to be out of the infirmary today, so without waking up Chiasa and Akiko (who were sleeping at their desks) he grabbed his hat from the chair and tied it to his neck, slipped out of bed and out the infirmary door, making sure to close it extra softly. He ran up the stairs, to the deck. He breathed in the fresh air and ran over to the railing. He looked over it to see the ocean. Once in a while, he still imagined this to be a wonderful dream. If so, he never wanted to wake up. Even after he was cursed by his devil fruit, he always loved the sea. He sat on the railing, feet swinging over the edge. He looked at the rising sun and started humming. He loved watching the sunrise. It was really beautiful and warm. He loved it because it was the last thing that reminded him of the dark, lonely cells. It was bright, warm, beautiful, welcoming. His most favorite thing in the world (besides his hat, and his two brothers). He tried to distance himself from things that reminded him of his time with the Celestial Dragons. For example, he stopped eating bread. It the second thing that reminded him about the Celestial Dragons, since the only food he got was bread. Stale bread, that is. He never got out of the habit of helping do chores though. He would help scrub the deck sometimes and offer to help Thatch cook. It wasn't that bad though. It wasn't like he was being forced or anything. He just wished he could do something about his mark. He wanted to burn it away. But the idea was traumatizing. His worst fear was fire, since it that the one that gave him his mark. He still had nightmares about them sometimes. It was kind of silly. A pirate that was afraid of fire? Most people would laugh, but at least Luffy had a reason. Luffy as just about to breath in the air of the sea before someone came and patted him on the back. Luffy turned his head around. It was Thatch.

"Hey there, midget." Thatch said, grinning. "You're up early."

"I could say that same for you." Luffy answered. He turned back to the sunrise. "I like it."

"Pretty, isn't it." Thatch agreed. Luffy nodded. The moment was short lived when they both heard the shout of an old man and the screams of two younger. Thatch winced. "Ooh, this isn't good." He said. Luffy turned around and jumped off the railing, onto the deck. Ace and Sabo jumped onto the deck, from the stairs and started to running hysterically. A blue flamed pineapple head came only a millisecond after chasing the two poor children. All the commander were woken up by the ruckus, shouting about what was going on, until they saw and absolutely livid Marco, chasing two kid around the deck… Covered in pink? Marco was covered head to toe in pink glitter and a bunch of other pink shenanigans that were able to get their hands of. Pink paint, pink confetti, how the hell did they get confetti in the first place? Not that it really mattered. What mattered was that they had pranked _Marco_. _Marco_ of all people! These kids had a death wish or something. But this. This is absolutely hilarious! All the commanders were laughing their asses off at the sight. Marco finally got his hands on the kids, holding them up by one of their legs, upside down. He started shouting at them to never do that again, and how he would kill the little shits. Of course, Sabo and Ace didn't pay any mind to him and laughed hysterically. Luffy just stared. Marco yelled at everyone to shut up and mind their only business.

"Come on, Marco! It's just pink!" Thatch laughed, going up to the man to pat him on the shoulder.

"It's not just that!" Marco shouted. "They nailed everything in my room to the ceiling! THE CEILING, YOI! EVEN ME BED! HOW DID YOU EVEN DO THAT, YOI!?" Ace and Sabo high-fived each other and kept laughing. Luffy stared at Ace and Sabo. Then to Marco. He sighed and started to giggle. His giggled had a distinct sound. It sounded like 'Shishishi'. Ace looked over to Luffy and tapped Sabo on the shoulder. Sabo looked over and grinned. Luffy walked over to Ace and Sabo and all three of them high-fived. Luffy was still giggling. Ace and Sabo were satisfied. It was just a started, but it was a good one. Marco rubbed his forehead in frustration and dropped Ace and Sabo on the wooden floor. He walked past all the commanders, mumbling about cleaning himself up and fixing furniture. Haruta congratulated the two kids and Thatch patted them on the head. The rest were still laughing or trying to calm down. Ace and Sabo didn't really care though. What matter was that Luffy had laughed.

* * *

**Fluffy, right? Yeah, I felt like I needed Luffy to LAUGH MORE! So, I made Sabo and Ace prank Marco. Well, this is short, isn't it? Originally, I was going to just post this, but, hey. I made you guys wait for a while so, here's a little bonus!**

* * *

**Escape Attempt 1**

_Luffy stared at the handgun attached to the guard's belt. The guard opened the cell and Luffy grabbed the gun from the belt and aimed it at the Celestial Dragon. Without thought, he pulled the trigger._

_"Someone stop him! He just shot Saint Charlos!" Luffy ran as fast as he could through the halls with a guard's shotgun in his hands. Guards stormed through the halls, chasing after him. He turned around and pulled the trigger. He shot down a guard. He pulled the trigger multiple times and ran again, not bothering to look back and see how many guards he had shot down. He panted heavily and turned he turned the corner. He made it to the steel door. He tried turning the handle, but it didn't budge. He closed his eyes and shot the guards, then he turned around to shoot the lock, causing the door to open. He ran out the door. The soft grass could be felt under his feet. But he was far from free. He forgot one thing. If he attacked a Celestial Dragon, they would call the Marines here. Luffy looked around. The Marine surround him in a semi-circle, closing him off against the wall. He gripped the shotgun with his shaky hands. He used up 35 bullets. 1 left. The Marines looked fairly surprised that a child has caused all this commotion. The captain of the group spoke loudly. _

_"Drop the gun! Surrender now and go to your cell, or we will force you to do so!" The man shouted. Luffy looked around. He only had one bullet left. He couldn't take one of the machine guns. One move and they open fire. Luffy couldn't go back. He had already made it this far! Luffy did something that made all the marines stare at him like he was insane (which was completely true now). Luffy pointed the tip of the gun at his head. The tip connected with the side of his head and he stared at the Marines blankly. Knowing that these were seastone bullets, it would be a faster kill than a normal bullet._

_"H-Hey!" The captain yelled. Luffy gripped the handle with both of his hands and one of his index fingers was settled on the trigger. The gun was shaking in his hands. The Marines looked hopeful that he wouldn't shoot, since he hands were shaking. No, he wasn't going back. Even if it meant death, he wasn't going back. His hands stopped shaking and the shotgun was firmly planted against the side of his head. _

_"Stop this mad child!" The captain screamed. Mad? How true. Luffy pushed the tip of the pistol closer to his head. He inhaled and closed his eyes. He wasn't going back. Ever. His index finger wrapped firmly around the trigger. He shot. _

_Something chain-like wrapped around one of his left ankle and pulled, causing him to fall forward, onto his side. The sea stone bullet brushed across the side of his head. Blood splattered across his face from a deep cut on the side of his forehead. The bullet hit one of the trees. Luffy bit the inside of his bottom lip. A small pool of blood started to form around his head. He gripped the shotgun. That was the last bullet. There was nothing left. He didn't want to go back. His vision was shaky. He saw the Marine captain approach him. The captain crouched down, in front of him. Luffy's ears couldn't hear what the man was saying. Luffy turned the gun so the tip aimed for his chest. Tears started to bottle up at the corner of his eyes. He pulled the trigger. Nothing. He pulled it over and over. He just wanted to die. That's all he wanted. He wanted to die and finally be free. He couldn't take it anymore. A teardrop fell from his eyes and he kept pulling the trigger. No bullets came out. Luffy grew more and more light-head, until he finally lost consciousness._

* * *

_Luffy woke up. He felt the cold ground under his body and his forehead felt wet. He touched it and looked at his fingers. He couldn't see. He licked it. Blood. How long had he been out of it. He felt light-headed, which would be expected since he almost killed himself by a headshot. Luffy pushed himself up into a sitting position. He blinked a few times, but the fogginess in his eyes wouldn't leave. There was a roll of bandages, a towel, and a bowl of water on the ground, in his cell. It was probably for his wound. Unable to stand up, Luffy crawled over to the items. He picked up the towel and started to wipe the blood from his wound. He winced as the towel came in contact with his bullet wound. He wiped the blood away as quickly as possible and grabbed the bandages. He carefully wrapped them around his head and tied it in a knot. He dropped the towel in the water, not bothering to clean it. He shook his head to clear it, but it only made the headache worst. He supported his head with his hand. Luffy didn't notice the marine captain that was standing next to his cell. _

"_You're one crazy little kid, aren't you?" The captain said. "I know adults that wouldn't have the guts to pulled off what you did." Luffy stared at the man with blurry vision. "Tell me, kid. What's your name?"_

_Luffy 'tch-ed'. "Why should I tell a man that a just meet not even for a few minutes?" He asked, with the little defiance he had left._

"_I'm interested." The captain said. "You have guts, kid. Taking a guard's handgun and shooting your master? That's practically unheard of from a slave. When you only had one bullet left in that gun and you were corner by marines? I expected you to surrender."_

"_What does it matter to you?" Luffy mumbled. His head hurt so badly, he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep. _

"_You see, if I hadn't pulled you down with that chain, you would be dead right now." The captain said. "Were you really willing to end your life for your freedom?"_

"_I don't care about freedom anymore." Luffy spat. "You think I'll ever feel free with a mark on my shoulder, constantly reminding me that I'll owned? I have an idea, how about you marines get an coal-heated iron brander pressed against your skin for five minutes? I bet you would love that. You get to hear the screams from your own throat until it's raw and when the brand finally leaves, you feel like you have already gone through hell. You have to have someone controlling you like a puppet master and then the strings finally break, you get thrown out and left to rot, alone. Doesn't that sound fun?" The Marine stiffened. Damn. This child had some dark thoughts. "I'd like to know how you feel about this. You don't care, do you? All you Marines care about is money, power, more money. I don't even know why I bother." Luffy lied and the ground and rolled over, back facing the Marine._

* * *

"Luffy!" Luffy fell off his stool at the sudden surprise. He sat up and held his head. "Hey, are you okay?" Sabo asked.

"Yeah, I'm good." Luffy climbed back onto his stool. "What were you saying before?"

"How did you get that scar on the left side of your head?" Sabo asked. "It looks like a sword slash." He brushed away the bangs that were hiding the scar.

"Or a bullet scratch." Ace added.

Luffy smiled and took a bit out of his meat. "It's not important." He answered.

Sabo and Ace turned to each other and shrugged, eating the rest of their food. Luffy took another bite from his meat. It didn't matter, because that was the past. He wasn't that slave in a cell anymore. He had something to live for.

That was enough for him.


	6. Chapter 5: Skips in time

"Rubber?" Ace asked, eating a spoonful of fried rice. Luffy nodded.

"I can stretch myself like a rubber band and normal bullets and hits can't hurt me." Luffy said. Ace reached out and started pulling on Luffy's cheek. It stretch an impossible length and Ace laughed.

"Rubber? That's hilarious!" Ace pulled on Luffy's cheek more and the younger was clearly not amused.

"Hey! Stop playing with my face, you jerk!" Luffy whined.

Ace and Sabo stared at Luffy a bit. _Did Luffy just whine…!?_ Ace let go of Luffy's cheek and it snapped back, causing the younger to tip over and fall on the wooden floor. "Where's the real Luffy and what did you do to him?" They both demanded.

"Don't play with my face!" Luffy growled, get back on his chair. He started pulling at Ace's face. The older failed to pry the hand off. "This is payback!" He smirked and started tickling Ace. Ace yelped and tried to push the evil little brother off him. Ace fell off his chair and Luffy was pulled down with him. Their stools tipped over and Luffy started to tickle Ace even more. Ace laughed hysterically, his pleas of help getting cut off by fits of laughter. Ace curled up into a ball to protect himself from Luffy's hands. Luffy jumped on Ace and Ace rolled out of the way, jumping on Luffy and pulling on his face. Luffy planted a palm in Ace's cheek and Ace kicked Luffy in the stomach. Thus began the usual wrestling match.

Sabo sighed and jumped down from his stool he snaked his hands between Ace and Luffy's faces and pushed them apart. Ace still had his hand on Luffy's, now, extra stretched cheek and had his other fist raised. Luffy held onto Ace's shirt, his fist up and a foot firmly planted in the side of Ace's face. "Alright, you two. Break it up before you ruin the galley." A few people in the back noticed them over the ruckus of the others and snickered. How they loved these kids so.

"I didn't know Ace was ticklish." Luffy said, innocently with his huge, round, adorable eyes… Did Luffy just make those eyes? He turned to Ace and smirked a devilish smirk. A dark aura surrounded him. "Now I know how to wake Ace up."

Needless to say, Ace was scared shitless.

Sabo just laughed and Ace yelled at him for laughing and Luffy…

Luffy laughed.

* * *

**A year later…**

"Luffy! Get off me!" Ace tried shaking Luffy off his back but the boy refused.

"Ace~ Carry me!" Luffy ordered with his chibi voice. Marco looked down at the three boys and his lips twitched upwards. They were walking back to the Moby Dick from gathering supplies. Ace, Sabo, and Luffy decided to go with him, and Marco learned the secret art to arguing with kids. Just give up. Especially when two of the kids had sharp teeth and one could be a major sadist. Just leave it at that.

"Luffy!" Ace groaned. "Do you know how embarrassing this is? People are around us." Sabo laughed and Ace whacked him on the head. "Shut up!" He yelled, shark-teethed. Sabo kept giggling.

"But I want you to carry me." Luffy said, innocently. Ace groaned, but didn't argue any further. He was actually glad. Ever since the three had stayed at the Moby Dick, Luffy changed little by little. Sure, he was still sometimes a cold person, but he was becoming more… innocent like. In fact, he was more clingy, cheery, and over all, he acted like he might have, before he had been a slave. This new Luffy felt a lot more right. The fact he had willingly jumped onto Ace's back and demanded a ride would probably give someone a heart attack if Luffy was still that hopeless, cold, and emotionless child in a lonely cell. Ace and Sabo could tell that it was somewhat of an act. But, it was still nice.

"Fine, I'll carry you, damn it." Ace's face was slightly flushed with embarrassment. Sabo started to lightly tease his brother and Ace told him to shut his trap, unless he wanted an ass whooping. Marco sighed.

* * *

**And a year after that… **

"The what?" All three boys asked.

Thatch sighed. "It's called Haki. Get it right."

"What is it?" Sabo asked.

"Well, it's this kind of power that's in all living things." Thatch explained.

"Like… some mystery thing?" Luffy suggested.

"Yeah, sure. You can say that." Thatch sweatdropped. "But since you guys are pirates now, you need to learn how to fight properly. So, I'm going to teach you one form of Haki. It's Observation Haki."

"What's Observation Haki?" Ace asked.

"It allows you to predict an enemy's movement." Thatch explained. "As long as attacks aren't randomly directed you'll be able to predict them."

"Really?" Luffy asked. "That's cool…"

"Okay." Thatch said. He took out two blindfolds and tied Luffy and Ace around the eyes. He shoved a wooden bat into Sabo's hands. "So, you guys will be taking turns. Two will be blindfolded. You'll sit on the ground. The one with the wooden bat will try to whack you two on the head. You'll repeat this until you can dodge flawlessly."

Sabo looked at him like he was crazy. "You want me to whack them!?"

"The hell!" Ace shouted, facing the wrong way.

"I'm over here." Thatch said.

"Whatever!" Ace shouted. Luffy just sat on the ground.

"Let's just get this over with. I don't wanna spend time arguing." Luffy whined. Ace muttered curses under his breath but sat down. Sabo gave Thatch one last glance before he swung the bat at Ace. Ace fell over.

"OW!" Ace rubbed the back of his head and sat back up. "What the hell was I supposed to do!?"

"That's not right, Sabo." Thatch said. He stood behind Sabo and wrapped his hands around the bat too. "Like this." He swung the bat back, then swung it forward with amazing force. Luffy was sent crashing into Ace and the two hit the railing. "That's better." Sabo dropped the bat and fell onto his knees.

"That… hard…?" Sabo asked.

"Yep." Thatch said. "It's like a hard punch."

"That's not a punch!" Sabo shouted.

Ace sat up, rubbing his head. "I'm gonna die before the day ends…" He groaned. He pushed Luffy off him. "How far did I go?" He moved his hands around and felt the railing. "I got knocked all the way to the freaking railing!?" He jumped up. "Are you trying to kill us!?" He shouted in the wrong direction (again).

"I'm over here!" Thach called over.

"SHUT UP!" Ace growled. A hand grabbed his wrist and pulled. He heard Luffy stand up. Luffy let go of his wrist and Ace heard him started walking back. Ace followed. He heard Luffy bump into the other railing and fall back. Ace sat down before he did the same.

"Again!" Luffy shouted, determinedly. Ace turned his head towards Luffy, in the right direction this time. He smirked.

Thatch laughed. "That's the spirit. I'll get you guys when lunch is ready. Remember to rotate in a few minutes. I'll be off now!" The footsteps of Thatch walking away could be heard. Sabo closed his eyes and raised his bat. This was gonna hurt.

* * *

"Again!" BAM! "Again!" BAM! "Again!" BAM!

"Hey, you three. It's time for lunch." Thatch said. All three boys jumped up, bruised, beaten, and smiling. "What progress have you three made?"

"I dodged one!" They all cheered.

Thatch sighed and smiled. "Okay, you guys are bleeding. You should see Chiasa first."

They shook their heads. "Food!" The three pumped a fist into the air and charged for the galley. Thatch shook his head and followed with a smile.

Needless to say, when the three kids got to the galley, everyone freaked.

* * *

"WHAT'S WITH ALL THESE CUTS AND BRUISES!? WHY DO YOU HAVE SPLINTERS!? THATCH! WHAT DID YOU DO TO THE KIDS!?"

"I WAS JUST TEACHING THEM OBSERVATION HAKI!"

"THAT'S NO EXCUSE! THEY WON'T GET BETTER UNTIL THREE DAYS! YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW STUPID YOUR TACTIC IS!?"

"BUT IT'S THE ONLY ONE THAT WORKS!"

"I DON'T CARE! I'M GONNA CUT YOU OPEN WITH A SCALPEL AND DISSECT YOU!"

"AHH! I'M SORRY!" **BAM! **"PLEASE DON'T HIT ME!" **BAM! **"PLEASE FORGIVE ME!" **BAM!** "AKIKO!"

"It's not that bad… They're just bruises…"

"I'M SORRY! DO YOU WANT ME TO BRUISE YOU MORE!?"

"NO, MA'AM! SORRY MA'AM!"

* * *

**Two years later...**

"Almost. You're aim is getting a bit better, yoi" Marco said. Luffy's arm retracted.

"I can never hit you!" Luffy shouted.

"Like I said, Luffy. You're getting better, yoi. But, you always aim to high. Try aiming a bit lower, yoi."

"Okay." Luffy said.

"Again." Marco ordered.

"Gomu Gomu no… Pistol!"

"Again!"

"Gomu Gomu no Pistol!"

"Again!"

"AHHH!"

* * *

**A two years later… **

"What's this?" Luffy grabbed the red vest from Izo's hands. It had a hood that was lined with white fur. The sleeves looked it they've been torn off. There was a button near the neck and a zipper down the middle.

"Since it's your 14th birthday, Luffy, I decided you needed something that makes you stand out." Izo said. "So I made you a vest." Then added, "And, I don't want you to stay shirtless, like Ace.

"It's cool!" Luffy unzipped it and put it on. "It's comfortable too. Thanks Izo!" He gave the commander a hug and ran off. "Ace, Sabo! Look at what Izo made me!"

Izo sighed. "Such an energetic child." He muttered.

* * *

"Ace! Sabo!" Luffy slammed open the door to the trio's room. No one was there. "Ace? Sabo?" He stepped in. Two figures jumped out from under the covers with a roar and tackled Luffy to the ground. Luffy yelped.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE BRO!" Sabo and Ace shouted, grinning wildly. Sabo shoved a paper-wrapped package into a shocked Luffy's hands.

"Open it already!" Sabo said. Luffy sat up and unwrapped the gift…

A red saké cup?

Out of nowhere (or their pockets) Sabo and Ace got out the same cups and a saké bottle. Sabo pour the saké into their cups. Ace and Sabo bumped their cups together with Luffy's and shouted, "To brothers!"

Luffy stared at them. He grinned. "To brothers!" The moment happened so fast, Luffy was still processing it in his head. But, who cared?

* * *

"What's this?" Luffy asked, holding a small box in his hands.

"Just open it, yoi."

Luffy lifted the lid and took out a… necklace? It had a light brown string and the charm hanging from the end was a silver anchor.

"Thought you would want something for your birthday, so I got you something, yoi." Marco said.

"It's great!" Luffy tied it around his neck. "Thanks, Marco!" He hugged the embarrassed man and ran off. "Ace, Sabo! Pineapple head got me a gift!"

A tick mark appeared on Marco's forehead from the sound of his nickname. "Why me…"

* * *

"Are you sure you don't want me to cover up that scar?" Akiko asked, looking at the scratch on the side of Luffy's head.

Luffy shook his head. "It's the past, so it doesn't really matter. Besides, it makes me look cool."

"I guess so." Akiko sighed. "You young people always think weirdly."

"You're still 22 Akiko." Luffy pointed out, innocently and clueless. "You're not old."

"I guess I'm not!" Akiko smiled. "I still feel like that 16 year old girl that you first met."

"You're a bit more naggy though." Luffy said. Akiko bonked him on the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Nothing." Akiko laughed. "Just felt like it!"

"Meany." Luffy whined, housing the small bump on his head.

"Anyway, Luffy. It's your birthday, right? I got you a gift." Akiko took out a box from her cabinet. "Here."

Luffy took the box and opened it. "Combat Knife?"

"Yeah, why don't you let Ace teach you how to use it?" Akiko winked. "I know a thing or two also."

"Thanks, Akiko." Luffy grinned. "I'll see, though I'm more of a fist fighter."

"Just think about it." Akiko said.

"I will!"

* * *

"Oyaji!" Luffy ran up to the large man and hugged his leg.

"How's my son's birthday going?" The Older man grinned, picking Luffy up and placing him on his lap.

"Great!" Luffy grinned. Whitebeard laughed.

"That's good to heard." He said. "How about we party tonight! For my son!"

"AYE!" All the pirates could be heard on deck.

* * *

"Why don't you drink something, Luffy?" Thatch asked, leaning on the younger's shoulder with a cup of beer in his hand.

"I don't really like the taste." Luffy stuck his tongue out. "It's all icky."

Thatch took a sip from his mug. "Well, you might wanna stop Ace from having a drinking contest with Marco." Thatch pointed over to Ace who slammed a mug on the table. He was sitting across the table from a certain, smug pineapple head.

"Why?" Luffy asked.

"Let's just say no one can out drink Marco." Thatch laughed. "That stupid pineapple head, tricking me all the time… I needa get him back for all that beli I lost…"

"I think you're getting drunk, Thatch."

"'M not drunk!"

* * *

Most of the pirates had passed out from drinking too much, or just fallen asleep. Luffy stepped over the bodies to make his way towards Ace and Sabo. He crouched down in front of them Sabo was back to back with Ace, who was snorting fairly loud. A dot of drool was on the corner of their mouths. Luffy giggled. They looked like little kids again. "Neh, thanks for the awesome day, you guys." Luffy whispered. "I enjoyed the party. It was funny seeing Ace pass out from drinking with Marco. I like the gifts. They were really cool. I'm glad I could celebrate my birthday with all of you. This was the best day of my life." He lied down next to his brothers and closed his eyes. He heard he brothers drowsily say, "Happy Birthday, Luffy…~"

Luffy smiled. "Thanks."

* * *

**Three years later…**

_Dear Ace and Sabo,_

_Hey! So, you're probably wondering where I am right now. Well, today's my birthday and I'm 17 so, I'm old enough to set sail! The reason Oyaji turned the ship around to next a quick stop on the East Blue is because I wanted to start here, the sea where I was supposed to start._

_I'm gonna miss you guys! But, don't worry, kay? I got enough food, water. I promise I'll take care of myself and try not to catch a cold before I get a doctor on my crew! _

_I hope you'll take care of yourselves too! Don't get into fights you can't win! Don't do anything stupid! Tell Oyaji "thank you" one last time for me! I know I should have let you guys know in person, but I hate sappy goodbyes. _

_Anyway, wish me luck!_

_Luffy_

_P.S. I'll meet you at the top!_

* * *

Sabo placed the letter back on the desk. Ace clenched his fists together.

"Luffy!"

* * *

Man! It's only noon and I've already sailed myself into a disaster!" Luffy looked over to the huge whirlpool his boat was being pulled into. "If I could swim I could probably get away…" He bonked himself on the head. "Stupid Luffy! You can't swim out of a whirlpool!" He looked over to his two barrels. "Oh! I know!" He bumped the content in one of the barrels into the water and jumped in. The water started to engulf his boat and he sealed the lid shut. "I should be safe in here…" He barrel flipped over and he banged against the wood. "I think I'm going to get sick if I keep flipping over…" Luffy groaned.

What a stupid way to start his journey.

* * *

**And done! So, this is the start of Luffy's voyage!**

**So, there are some differences to Luffy right now:**

**He acts more innocent like because of his non-innocent past**

**He doesn't laugh as much, just the occasional giggle here and there**

**He can be a major sadist (guaranteed by Marco)**

**He's quotes on quote "weaker" because of his immune system trouble notice the ""**

**He knows Observation Haki, though Armament Haki and Conqueror's Haki are awakened by the obvious following: Intense emotion, great will to protect, great will to fight, etc.**

**His appearance also has some changes:**

**His clothing is like the clothing in the 3D2Y special (if you didn't watch it, go watch it now! I command you! I, Riena vi Britannia COMMAND YOU TO-)**

**In addition to the scar under his left eye, he also has a scar on the left side of his face (though it's unstitched, due to poor treatment at "the hellhole")**

**His right shoulder is bandaged up to hide his mark (He also has a carved "X" over it. I didn't write the scene, but Luffy secretly carved an "X" over it with a knife)**

**He has a bunch off slashes on his back because of whips and shit (Celestial Dragons are jerks) Thankfully, they are covered by Luffy's vest**

**He has the necklace Marco gave him hanging around his neck**

**The combat knife Akiko gave him is on his left hip (he only takes it out when he needs to, because he more of a fist fighter)**

**That's all. Anyway, bye!**

**Responses:**

**OH MEH GAWD! SORRY FOR NOT REPLYING TO ALL THE REVIEWS FOR CHAPTER 3!**

**Otaku-chan: THE FEELS! I punch you with the feels! lol. That Marco part really cracked me up XD **

**Vivianne95: Yep!**

**general yumi: THX! Hope you like the update!**

**Guest: THX! I'm glad you think it's well written!**


	7. Chapter 6: The bird flew away

"_You wouldn't tell anybody, right Coby?"_

"_Right! My lips are sealed!"_

Luffy opened his eyes and blinked a few times. _Am I still in the barrel?_ He rubbed his eyes and blinks a few more times. _Yep. It's all dark and stuff, so I guess I'm still in the barrel…_ He tried to stretch his arms but the barrel was too small for his arms. Losing his patience right away, he shot up, stretching his entire body. The barrel collapsed under the pressure and shattered. Luffy was pretty sure he hit something in the air. "I'M FINALLY OUTTA THAT THING!" He cheered. "I THOUGHT I WAS GONNA BARF WITH HOW MUCH MY BARREL WAS SPINNING!" He looked around after his huge exclamation. There was a hole in the roof… That was weird. He looked at the things in front of him. There were two men in front of him. They both stared at him dumbly, from the hole, to him. Luffy didn't even need his Observation Haki to tell that there was someone behind him too. He focused his attention to the pirates in front of him (well, at least he thought they were pirates). "Who the hell are you guys?"

"Who the hell're you!?" They shouted back, shark-teethed.

"You know, you might wanna fix that hole in your roof." Luffy pointed up at the ceiling.

"You're the one who created it!" The Pirates argued. Luffy climbed out the barrel.

"I did?" He ask, with his clueless, innocent face. The Pirates comically sobbed at his stupidity. Luffy turned around and waved to a frightened, pink haired short kid. "Hey! I'm really hungry! Do you happen to know where the food storage is?"

"Don't ignore us!" The two pirates charged at him, swords in the air.

"It's not nice to be annoying." Luffy whined. He broke the swords with his hands. the end of the blades were, now, stuck in the ceiling. "You might wanna get those blades outta the ceiling too, when you're fixing that hole."

The two pirates fell on their butts, cowering in fear. "W-who are you?"

"Oh, me?" Luffy asked. "Hiya! I'm Monkey D. Luffy! Nice to meet 'cha!" The Pirates ran down the hall, screaming their heads off.

"What… just happened?" The pink haired kid asked.

"Beats me…" Luffy stared down the hall.

"Quick!" The pink haired kid suddenly panicked. "When those guys come back here with their buddies, they'll kill you on the spot!"

Luffy turned his head around. His smile came from hunger. "I don't care about that! I'm hungry!"

"How can you be so calm!?" The kid ranted, though Luffy wasn't paying attention at this point. He use his Observation Haki to sense from food behind the door right next to him. He walked over to the door with the kid clinging to his arm. Luffy opened the door and he could feel the drool coming out of his mouth.

"This is a gold mine!" Luffy cheered and ran down the stairs from the door to a barrel of apples. "This tastes great!" He tossed the apples into his mouth.

"I guess that won't be able to find us in here…" The kid quietly shut the door.

"Um, M-my name is Coby…" The pink haired boy said. "Y-you're Luffy-san, right? That was really incredible, what you did just now. How did you do that?"

"Is this a pirate ship?" Luffy asked, completely oblivious of Coby's question.

"No," Coby answered. "It's a passenger ship that's being raided by Alvida-sama."

"Well, doesn't really matter…" Luffy tossed more apples into his mouth. "Are there any boats on board? Cause mine kinda got destroyed in a whirlpool." He took a bite out of an apple.

"You mean the whirlpool outside?" Coby exclaimed. "No one could survive that!"

"Really? Well, I did." Luffy grinned. Coby gave him the I-can't-believe-he's-smiling-when-he-could-have-died look. "So, are you one of the pirates, or the passengers?"

Coby immediately became depressed. "It was on a fateful day…"

_Oh great._ Luffy thought. _Is this going to be like one of Vista's stories? They suck_. Coby continued to tell him about how he had mistaken a pirate boat for a fishing boat and how Alvida made him a chore boy in exchange for his life.

"Wow! You're kinda stupid!" Luffy commented.

"You're brutally honest…" Coby said.

"If you hate it, then just escape." Luffy said.

Coby shook his head violently. "I-I can't! No way, not a chance! Just the thought of Alvida-sama finding me frightens me to death!"

"So, you're a weakling too!" Luffy giggled. "If I were you, I would've beat Alvida up and take a dinghy!" Coby's eyebrows twitched and he cried comically.

"I guess you're right…" Coby said. "If I had the courage to drift in a barrel, like you… There's actually something I want to do…"

"Hm?"

"Luffy-san, what made you want to set sail?" Coby asked.

"Well, I'm gonna be King of the Pirates!" Luffy cheered. Coby's jaw almost crashed onto the wooden floor and his mind shattered at the statement.

"T-the Pirate K-king?"

"Yep!"

"Are you serious?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

"Then that must mean you're a pirate too!"

"Is there a problem?" Luffy tilted his head.

"Where's your crew?"

"Don't have one yet, but I'm looking." If it were possible, Coby's jaw dropped even more. His face seemed frozen in time. "Hm?" Luffy waved a hand in front of Coby's eyes. "Hey, Coby. Are you there?"

Coby jumped out. "The King of the Pirates is a title given to the person who obtains everything the world has to offer! That means seeking the great treasure of Wealth, Fame, and Power! The One Piece!"

"Yeah, is there something wrong?" Luffy asked, looking at Coby with his clueless and innocent eyes.

"Is there something wrong!?" Coby screamed. "All the pirates in the world are looking for that treasure, ya' know!"

"Well, I am too." Luffy answered, simply.

"It's impossible! Completely impossible! There's no way someone like you can make it to the Grandline! There's just too many other pirates that are bigger, and meaner, and stronger-" Luffy hit Coby upside the head.

"Ow, why'd you hit me?" Coby whined.

"You were hysterical." Luffy answered.

Coby chuckled nervously. "Well, I guess I'm used to it by now…" Luffy looked at him with sympathetic eyes.

_It's sad that I can say the same._ Luffy thought. He reached for his hat and placed a hand on it. "It's not the fact that I can do it or not. I'm doing it cause I want to." He took off his hat and looked at it with a soft smile. "When I was little, a pirate gave me this hat. I promised him that I would set sail, gather a crew, and become the Pirate King. If I have to die for that dream, then I die. What matters is that I at least tried." Coby stared at Luffy in awe. "Well, I'm done eating. I'm going to get myself a boat." Luffy placed his hat back on his head and walked towards the door. "Who knows? Maybe they're actually nice. They might give me one if I ask politely enough."

"I never thought of it that way…" Coby whispered. "Do you… really think I can do it?"

"Hm?"

"Do you really think I can become a marine?" Coby asked, looking at his hands.

"A marine?" Luffy tried not to think about the Celestial Dragons.

"Since I was a little kid, I've always dreamed of becoming a marine and catching bad guys!" Coby announced, determinedly. "Do you think I can do it"

"How would I know?" Luffy asked, smiling.

"I'm going to do it!" Coby shouted. "I'm going to escape from here and join the navy! Then I can catch pirates like Alvida! No! I'm going to catch Alvida by myself!"

"Above." Luffy said. The roof of the storage room smashed into pieces and a whale like figure appeared before them. Luffy tilted his head to dodge the swords stabbing through the wall. Coby was cowering in fear at the sight of the fat whale lady.

"Who are you going to catch!? Eh, Coby!" The whale lady asked with her disgusting voice.

_I'd take Chiasa nagging at me all day than that kind of voice…_ Luffy thought.

She looked over to Luffy. "I'm guessing you're not the great bounty hunter Roronoa Zoro."

"Hm? Zoro?" Luffy tilted his head.

"COBY!" Alvida proceeded to bellow. "Who's the most beautiful woman on all the seas!?"

"That of course w-w-would be y-you-"

"I would say Chiasa or Akiko." Luffy grinned. "They're nice to me, and I think they're pretty." He bopped his left fist on his open palm. "Oh, but Marco said something about Boa Hancock and Shirahoshi. I've never met them so I don't know."

Many veins have now popped out of Alvida's face. "DIE!"

"No, thanks." Luffy replied. Alvida swung her iron maze down, but Luffy jumped up to dodge. He landed next to Coby. "Let's get outta here." He grinned. He grabbed a hold of Coby's wrist and jumped up, out of the hole. He landed on the deck of the ship and grinned at the pirates. His hat slipped off his head, hanging around his next. The pirates charged at him. He didn't even need Haki to predict their moves. Their clumsiness gave it away. He heard a pirate scream while running towards him, from behind.

"It's not nice to attack from behind." Luffy pouted and side-stepped. The sword was jammed into the deck. Luffy grabbed the head of the pirate and tossed him at the pirates in front of him. "You can have him back!" He grinned. He noticed that Alvida's men all ganged up on his from behind. Luffy ran across the deck. "Not nice!" He whined. He grabbed onto the ship's mass and kept running. His arm stretch an impossible length. The pirates blinked a few times and stared before their minds finally processed the information. They screamed.

"Just kidding." Luffy looked back. "Gomu Gomu no Rocket!" He shot himself back like a cannon and crashed into Alvida's men. The pirates were now lying on the ground, moaning in agony.

"Luffy-san…" Coby stared. "What are you?"

"Me?" Luffy asked. He pulled on his inner cheek and his mouth stretched, and stretched… and stretched. "I'm a rubber man!"

"So you're… made of rubber?" Coby gapped. He finally notice a shadow was looming over him and he scampered behind Luffy. Luffy let go of his cheek and it snapped back in place.

"So, you ate one of those devil fruits." Alvida said.

"Yeah, I ate the Gomu Gomu no mi." Luffy answered.

"I always thought they were legend." Alvida turned to Coby. "COBY! WHO'S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WOMAN ON ALL THE SEAS!?"

Coby hesitated before his eyes hardened and he shot Alvida a glared. "CERTAINLY NOT YOU, YOU UGLY, OLD, SEA HAG!" Luffy covered his mouth and started giggling.

"What did you say?" Alvida growled.

"I'm going to find the marines and went I do, I'm gonna join 'em!" Coby continued. "Then I'LL CAUGHT YOUR LOUSY ASS FIRST!"

"YOU'RE DEAD!" Alvida shouted, raising her club. Coby started screaming, but didn't move. Luffy smiled.

"You're a good guy, Coby." Luffy pushed the pink haired boy out of the way and Alvida swung her maze down on Luffy's head. Luffy lifted his head, lifting the maed with it at the same time. He had a wide grin on his face. "That won't work."

"What!?"

"I'm rubber!' He knocked the maze away and his fist stretched backwards. He stung it forward. "Gomu Gomu no Pistol!" His fist connected with Alvida's gut and she was sent flying into the air. Her screaming echoed in the distance until it faded. "That's it?" His eyes held disappointment. Luffy looked over to the pirates on Alvida's ship. "Hey, you. Give Coby a dinghy. He's gonna join the navy."

"H-hai…"

Coby stared at Luffy. "Luffy-san…" Suddenly, cannon balls could be heard plunging into the water.

"Ooh, it's the navy! It's your chance, Coby!" Luffy jumped over the railing. "I'm a pirate, so gotta run!"

"Are you kidding me!? They'll arrest me too!" Coby shouted down. Coby tipped over the railing and fell onto the dinghy that was descending into the water.

Luffy pulled out his knife and sawed at the ropes. They broke apart and crashed into the water below.

* * *

The small boat floated in the calm waters. "That was fun!" Luffy fell onto his back, looking at the sky.

"So, Luffy-san." Coby said. "If you're searching for the One Piece, you gotta be heading for the Grandline, right?"

"Right!"

"You know, that place is called the Pirate Graveyard."

"The first half is actually called Paradise."

"No way!"

"Well, I gotta gather a really strong crew!" Luffy grinned. "So, you guys mentioned some pirate hunter. What's he like?"

"Oh, you mean Roronoa Zoro? Last time I heard, he was captured by a marine base."

Luffy sighed. "Aw, weakling, huh?"

"No way! He's a demonic beast!" Coby shouted. "Why do you ask?"

"If he's good enough I'll have him join." Luffy grinned.

"What!? He's a bounty hunter! A bad guy! No way!"

"Well, I have to see if he's a nice person first. Then I'll decide."

"He's captured because he's obviously not! He's a criminal! There's no way you can get him to join! Impossible! Impossible! Impossible-"

_**Bonk!**_

"Ow, why'd you hit me?"

"You were hysterical."

* * *

**Sorry for the long wait, guys! Some shit happened in September, so yeah.**

**Responses: **

**Vivianne95: You're welcome :)**

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**inulover305: The update is here!  
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**Guest: WAAAH! :3**

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**Missy anon: Thx for the compliments! I'm think about him meeting chopper right now :3  
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**sam-free15: It's not the end!  
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**Otaku-chan: Yep, sadist XD  
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**SilenceOfRain7: Thanks! I'm glad you like it! Hope you liked this chapter too!**

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**TrafalgarLawxKikoku: Yeah, Marco. I love writing him. It's fun, yoi XD**

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**Rhirhirhi: Continuing!  
**


	8. Chapter 7: Shells Town

"So, a demonic beast, huh?" Luffy asked.

Coby adjusted his glasses. "Roronoa Zoro is his real name. But, they call him 'Zoro the Pirate Hunter'."

"I see…" Luffy said, not really paying much attention.

"He's a blood thirsty hound." Coby said, with a grim face. "He wanders around the sea and hunts down fugitives. They say he's a demon in human form!"

Luffy wasn't very phased by Coby's description. He's seen bloodthirsty hounds before. Besides, the navy alway exaggerated things. "Sounds like a cool guy." Luffy grinned.

"He's not cool, he's terrifying!" Coby shouted. "He's a _pirate hunter_ Luffy! Pirate hunters don't mix well with pirates!"

"We'll, if he's a good guy, then I'll-"

"For the second time! He's in prison because he's obviously not!" Coby shouted, trying to get some sense through to Luffy.

* * *

"We're here! The Marine Base City!" Luffy cheered, jumping off the boat, onto the dock. "You're amazing, Coby!" Luffy grinned.

"Huh?" Coby tilted his head, confused.

"We actually got to where we're supposed to be." Luffy explained, crossing his arms.

"Of course!" Coby said, nervously. "That's the minimum requirement for people who sail the seas."

"Yeah, I know." Luffy muttered. "But, Marco gave up on trying to teach me." He crossed his arms. "He said I was too stupid! I'm not the stupid one! Ace is more stupid than me!"

"I see…" Coby said, sweat dropping. He has no clue what Luffy was talking about at the moment. "Anyway, it's best if you find a navigator for your crew."

"Yeah." Luffy looked at his fingers. "And a cook, a musician, a cool shipwright, but he needs to be at least 5 meters tall…" He fold down a finger as he named off the spots in his crew that he needed to fill.

"Priorities first, Luffy-san!" Coby reminded.

"Right." Luffy bopped his right fist on his open palm, in an ah-ha moment. "Lets hope Zoro can cook really well." Coby just sweat dropped.

"Anyway, let's go." Luffy shoved his hands into his pockets and started walking towards the town, carefree.

"Luffy-san, wait for me!" Coby ran after him.

"Seriously, Luffy-san." Coby said, nervously, walking down the roads of Shell Town. "You're crazy if you want him to join you!"

"Well, I have to see if he's a good guy first." Luffy said.

"He's been caught because he's obviously a bad guy!" Coby shouted for the third time, but Luffy had already appeared in front of a random villager.

"Hey, have you seen Zoro around?" He asked, cheerfully. All the villagers screamed and backed away, looking at Luffy as if he were a demon. Luffy flinched. He hated that look. It reminded him too much of the Celestial Dragons.

"It seems that Zoro's name is taboo here…" Coby whispered.

Luffy sighed and started walking again. "Well, let's go to the base anyway. You want you be a marine, right?"

"Y-Yes, but I'm not really ready yet…" Coby stuttered nervously. "Rumor has it that the captain of this navy base is Captain Morgan, and…" All the villager screamed again, eyes balling out, and scurried away from the pair. Luffy and Coby sweat dropped.

"What a weird town…" Luffy murmured, walking away from the terrified group of villagers.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Luffy-san…" Coby said. "I can understand why they reacted that way to Zoro's name, but why the captain?"

Luffy smiled, halfheartedly. "Maybe the captain's a bad guy." Luffy said.

"No way!" Coby gave Luffy the "impossible" look. "Marines are the good guys!"

Luffy's smile slipped off his face. "That's naïve, to think that."

"What did you say, Luffy-san?" Coby asked.

"Nothing!" Luffy smiled. "Anyway, we're here!" They were now standing in front of the metal gates of the Navy Base. Coby stared at the base in awe.

"I made it." He exclaimed, breathless. Tear dotted the corners of his eyes. "This is where you and I part ways, Luffy-san." Coby sobbed. "I know I haven't known you that long ,but …" Luffy had already started climbing the wall.

"Where's the foot hole?" He tried to find one with his feet.

"Get down from there!" Coby shouted, urgently. "Besides, he's probably locked somewhere in the base. Luffy ignored him though and climbed onto the top, walking across the top of the wall.

"There he is!" Luffy cheered in triumph. "I'm gonna get a better look." He whistled, taking careless steps across the stone. Coby ran after him. Luffy sat down on the wall when he saw the man in the crucifixion yard. Luffy stared at the bloody and beaten figure with interest. He had a black bandana tied to his head. He wore a simple white short sleeve shirt , along with black pants and a green haramaki. Luffy saw Coby climb up the wall to take a peek. Coby freaked.

"That black bandana, and a green haramaki. That's him! That's Roronoa Zoro!" Coby's voice quivered in fear.

"Great! Now I just gotta untie him and we'll be on our way!" Luffy was about to jump off the wall until Coby freaked out again.

"That's suicide!" Coby yelled. "If you let him loose, he'll kill us both and destroy the town!"

Luffy sighed and crossed his arms. "It's not like I'll let him. If he tries then I'll kick his ass."

_What a big head he's got!_ Coby thought, comical tears streaming down his face.

"Hey, you two." Zoro said, his voice gruff. "You're an eyesore. Get lost."

"Yikes!" Coby ducked behind the wall. "Luffy, let's go."

"Why?"

"If you have someone like him on your crew, you won't survive!" Coby tried to reason. Just then, a ladder stabled itself against the wall. A small girl with brown pigtails climbed up, carrying a small handkerchief with something inside. Luffy caught the scent in his noise and gritted his teeth. He could really use some food right now. The girl looked from right to left like a ninja and placed a finger over her lips in a signal of "be quiet". She dropped a rope over the wall and climbed down the other side, running over to Zoro.

"Hey! D-Don't got down there! It's dangerous!" Coby tried to call the little girl back, but she didn't listen. His head snapped around to face Luffy. "Luffy-san! So something! She'll get killed." Luffy just waited for the scene to be played. "Luffy-san!"

Zoro looked down at the girl with lazy, but menacing eye. "What you want." He grumbled.

The girl untied the handkerchief to reveal two, tasty rice balls. "I made some rice balls for you! It's my first time making them, but I made them with all my heart!" Zoro seemed a bit surprised at this, but returned to his tough guy look.

"I'm not hungry!" He growled. "Now, get lost!"

"B-But…" The girl seemed saddened at his outburst.

"Don't make me kick your ass, little girl!" Zoro shouted.

"Now, now. You shouldn't bully little girls, Zoro." An annoying, spoiled brat voice cut in, quite smug. Luffy stiffened and he eyes narrowed. It sounded way too close to Saint Charlos. He mentally let out the breath he didn't even know he was holding when he saw the owner of the voice look way different from the Celestial Dragons. The man had bowl haircut that was blond. He had bushy eyebrows and a cleft chin. He wore a pink dress shirt under a suit of purple.

"He looked like a weirdo." Luffy finally muttered.

"He must be some high-ranking marine officer. Now that little girl will be safe." Coby sighed in relief. Luffy, on the other hand, didn't trust this man. He didn't trust any marine, matter of fact. Well, besides his gramps.

Zoro just looked at the man, not amused. "Tch. Well, isn't it the idiot son, living off his daddy's wealth." He mocked.

"Did you just just me an idiot?" The brat asked, annoyed. "A man in your position should guard his tongue, or he might lose it." He walked over to the little girl and snatched one away. "Oh look, some tasty rice balls."

"Those aren't for you!" The girl objected, watched the man take a bite.

"Blech!" The man spat it out, his face twisted in disgust. "They're packed with sugar! You're supposed to use salt, you idiot! Salt!"

The girl's stared up at him in fear. "B-But I thought they would taste better sweet…"

"Gimme that!" The man snatched the other rice ball and threw it on the ground, smashing it with his foot. The little girl dropped onto his knees, trying to save the food she had made.

"No! Stop!" The girl cried.

"This is terrible! That little girl work so hard on them, too!" Coby exclaimed. Luffy just stared at the waste of food. He hated food wasters. They obviously didn't know what the word "starve" was. The fact that he was smashing them in front of a man who hadn't eaten for days was also a crime in Luffy's mind. The man finally stopped grinding the rice ball into the ground. The girl started crying, her spirit completely crushed, along with her hard work.

"I-I worked so hard to make those." The girl whimpered.

"Oh, stop crying. This is why I hate kids." The man stared down at the girl in disgust. "It's your own fault." He pointed at a wooden sign. "Can't you read? It says 'Anyone aiding this prisoner shall be found guilty of the crimes he has committed. - Captain Morgan'." He bent over to stare the child straight in the eye. "I'm sure you know how scary my daddy can be. If you were an adult, you would be put to death." He look at one of the marines standing behind him. "You. Throw this kid out."

"B-But sir…"

"I'm ordering you to throw this girl out! You don't want me to tell my daddy on you, do you!?" The man grabbed the marine's collar and spit flew as he yelled.

"Y-Yes sir! Right away!" The marine answered, in fear. The marine walked over to the girl and grabbed her.

"No!" The girl screamed.

"I'm sorry." The marine whispered. "Try curling into a ball." The girl was tossed over the wall. Luffy jumped off the wall and stretched his arms to catch the airborne girl. He retracted his arms and hugged the girl close to his chest as they landed, harshly. Luffy's back and arms shielded the girl from the impact. He let go of the girl and sat up.

"Thank you, mister!" The girl smiled gratefully.

"Luffy." Luffy smiled.

"I'm Rika!" The little girl chirped.

"Are you okay, Luffy?" Coby jumped down from the wall and rushed over. Luffy nodded. Coby kneeled down, next to Rika. "How about you, little girl? Are you okay?" Rika nodded. Luffy stood up and patted the dust off his shorts.

"Aren't you a stubborn one." The annoying man said to Zoro, in a smug tone.

"I still have 10 days left." Zoro said.

The man start walking away, with his marines following from behind. "And you think you can survive those 10 days, don't you." He laughed. The idiot son and the marines disappeared from view and Luffy climbed over the wall. He faced Zoro, staring him in the eye. Zoro returned the favor.

"You're still here?" Zoro asked, annoyed.

"I'll untie you. But, only if you promise to join my crew." Luffy said, plainly.

"Crew?"

"I'm running a pirate crew. I'm looking for people to join." Luffy explained.

"Pirate? Screw that business." Zoro dismissed.

"What's so bad about being a pirate?" Luffy asked.

"They're despicable! Like I'd ever want to join one!" Zoro growled. Luffy suddenly felt a sense of over protectiveness and before Zoro could blink, Luffy was standing right next to him and his fist was only a centimeter from connecting with Zoro's face. Luffy's eyes widened as he realised what he was just about to do. His fist trembled and he forced it down. His straw hat slipped off his head and hung from the back of his neck. His bangs shadowed his eyes and he forced his trembling hand to open up from a fist. He stepped away from the surprised and slightly freighted Roronoa Zoro and looked up at him and rubbed the back of his neck and grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry. Instincts." Luffy said.

Zoro stared at him with an eyebrow raised. _Instincts?_

"I was raised by a pirate crew for most of my childhood, so I became really protective of them." Luffy gave a short explanation. "Anyway, just say 'yes'. Everyone already knows you as some bloodthirsty pirate hunter."

"I have my own plans for the future." Zoro said.

"World's Greatest Swordsman." Luffy said, not missing a beat.

"H-How did you know?" Zoro glared.

"Instinct." Luffy replied, nonchalantly. Zoro stared at him in awkward silence. Damn, this kid's instinct was starting to scare him. Luffy grinned. "If you join me, I can help you reach that goal."

"Look, kid. I got 10 days left and then I'm free to do what I want." Zoro said. "I don't need some pirate to help me."

"Oh really." Luffy whistled. "Do you think he's going to keep his promise?"

"Hm?"

"That idiot son." Luffy said. "You shouldn't trust him that much. It may be your downfall." Zoro was a bit unnerved by his words. Luffy turned around and picked up the dirty rice ball. "Stupid food wasters." He shaped the sticky rice into a ball and turned to Zoro. "You gonna eat it? She made it for you."

Zoro's eyes widened. "Yeah-" Luffy shoved the mud/rice ball into the man's mouth. He choked on it a bit before swallowing it whole. "Hey," He muttered. "Tell that little girl that it was good. Tell her that I ate everything."

"No problem." Luffy giggled a bit and walked away. _Roronoa Zoro, huh? I'm going to make you my first nakama._

* * *

"Really!?" Rika asked, grinning.

"Yep! He ate it all." Luffy assured.

"I'm so glad!" Rika cheered in relief.

Coby looked a bit uneasy. "Zoro doesn't seem like such a bad guy like everyone says."

"He's not a bad guy!" Rika defended. "It's that stupid Helmeppo's fault! His pet dog was making a mess in the bar and it tried to attack me, but Zoro threw a chair at it and knocked it out. Helmeppo threatened to kill us and told Zoro that if he could survive a month, tied up, he would let us go."

"So the reason Zoro is in prison is because he attacked that guy's dog?" Luffy asked. Rika nodded.

"That makes sense." Coby stated, adjusting his glasses. "Zoro's pretty scary, but he only goes after people with bounties on their heads. And, he wouldn't get thrown into prison because of that."

"It's Captain Morgan and his son that are the bad guys." Rika explained. "They put people to death for no reason! Everyone's afraid of them."

Luffy heard an annoying laugh in the background and turned around. "HAHAHA! YOU'RE NOT BOWING YOUR HEADS LOW ENOUGH, SCUM! I'LL TELL MY FATHER ON YOU!" The villagers were on their knees, bowing for the stupid marine son. He walked down the road, acting all high and mighty. "Seeing as how bored I am, I might as well execute Zoro tomorrow!" Luffy's eyes widened and he spun around on his heels to face Helmeppo.

"Didn't you say you would let him go in 10 day?" He asked, glaring at the marine.

Helmeppo made a face by puffing out his cheeks like an idiot. "That promise was fake! He's even more stupid than I thought if he believed-" Before Helmeppo could finish his sentence, Luffy appeared right next to his and his fist grinded itself into the marine's ugly face. Helmeppo was sent to the ground. Coby grabbed Luffy's arm and pulled him back.

"Luffy! Stop!" Coby screamed. "You don't want to make the entire navy our enemy, do you!?"

"This guy is scum." Luffy growled, pulling his arm out of Coby's grip. His fist tightened, ready to throw another punch.

"Y-You hit me!" Helmeppo exclaimed, holding his cheek. "You actually hit me! I'm going to tell my daddy on you!" All the villagers flinched.

"LIKE I CARE!" Luffy shouted. "Don't go crying to daddy! Face me like a man!"

The marine swung Helmeppo's arms around their necks and helped him up. "You'll die begging for mercy. You're a walking corpse." He and the marines ran back to the base yelling about how his father would kill him.

"He's not even worth hitting." Luffy placed his hat back on his head. "Hey, Coby." Coby looked at him with horrified eyes. "I've decided that Zoro is going to join my crew."

* * *

"Yo!" Luffy waved, facing Zoro.

"You again." Zoro glared at the pirate. "If this is about joining your crew, my answer is still no."

"Call me Luffy." Luffy shoved his hands into his pockets and grinned. "I'll untie you if you join my crew, okay?"

"You don't listen, do you?" Zoro growled. "I have my own goals. Besides, I'm not going to join a bad guy."

"What's the difference." Luffy asked. "Everyone already knows you as someone bounty hunter who always out for blood."

"I don't care what they say about me." Zoro said. "I haven't done one thing that I've regretted in the past, and it will be the same in the future."

Luffy pouted and Zoro raised and eyebrow. "If you don't care what people say about you, then why won't you join me!?" Luffy whined. "Besides, I already decided that you would join."

"You can't just do that!" Zoro kicked around.

"I heard that you used a sword." Luffy said, ignoring Zoro's outburst.

"Yeah, but that idiot captain's son took mine."

Luffy grinned his cute, cheeky grin. "Then your swords lay in the balance! If you want them back, you have to join my crew!"

"THAT'S BLACKMAIL, YOU JERK!" Zoro shouted, shark-teethed.

Luffy gave him such a sweet smile that it was creepy. "The fate of your swords are in my hands." He ran towards the base.

* * *

"Alright! That's the right position!" Captain Morgan shouted. "Lift it up men!" All the marine soldiers were pulling on ropes, hoisting up a giant stone statue.

"Well daddy!?" Helmeppo yelled, furiously. "I mean, he out right struck me in public! You've never hit me before! Why should he be able too!?"

"Do you have any remote idea of why I've never hit you?" Captain Morgan grumbled.

Helmeppo smiled nervously. "Because you think I'm great…"

"No." Captain Morgan said. "It's because…" He lifted his fist and punched Helmeppo square in the face. "You're a bastard son that's not even worth hitting!" He stood up from his sitting position. "Why should I clean up after your own messes. You're old enough to wipe your own bottom." He pick up his terrified son my the collar. "I don't want you to get the wrong idea. The only great one here is _me_!" He tossed Helmeppo to the side. "That reminds me. I heard a little rat snuck in to the crucifixion yard."

"Oh, the little girl." Helmeppo said, voice trembling. "I had her dealt with. I-"

"I hope that means killed." Captain Morgan interrupted.

"No! She was just a little girl! She didn't know what she was doing!" Helmeppo panicked, waving his hands in dismissal.

"You!" Morgan pointed at his lieutenant. "Go into town, find this girl, and kill her!"

"B-But, Captain!" The Lieutenant stuttered. "She's just a little girl!"

"I don't care how old she is!" Captain Morgan growled. "Anyone who defies me is a traitor!"

"I can't, sir." The lieutenant stated.

"Treason!" Morgan swung his axe hand down and sliced the man. The lieutenant fell to the ground.

"Y-You didn't have to kill him!" Helmeppo screamed in horror.

"Lieutenant!" The marines gathered around their fallen comrade.

"I'll let this side for the time being." Morgan said. "We'll worry about that later." He turned to his statue. "This statue, the symbol of my greatest, has finally been completed after years of work! Now raise it up on the highest point of this base!"

* * *

"Hm, there aren't any marines here." Luffy looked around at the entrance of the base. He let his Observation Haki out, scanning the area. He looked up. "Everyone's on the roof."

* * *

The arm on the statue banged itself against the tower on the roof.

"You." Morgan said, staring at a marine. The terrified marine turned around. "That statue. You bumped it." Captain Morgan held up his axe hand.

"I'm sorry sir!" The marine said, nervously. "It won't happen again!"

"This statue is like my person." Morgan stated. "Damaging it is like damaging me!"

* * *

"Here I go." Luffy stretched his arm to grab onto the stone railing of the roof. "Gomu Gomu no…"

* * *

The marine screamed as Morgan's axe hand was brought down upon him.

* * *

"Rocket!" Luffy was launched into the air, well over the base. "I over shot!" He stretched his arm out and grabbed onto the ropes of the statue. All the marines stared in awe. Luffy landed on the roof, feet first and stared as the ropes that held onto the statue unraveled. The statue doubled over and fell. The upper part hit the stone railing and broke apart, the top half falling onto the ground below, shattering. All the marines stared in horror. They turned to Luffy, jaws dropping and, in Morgan's case, crying. Luffy sweatdropped. "I apologize!"

Captain Morgan was furious. "SEIZE HIM AND BRING ME HIS HEART!"

"Daddy! That's him! That's the guy who hit me!" Helmeppo pointed. Luffy appeared right in front of him and waved.

"Oh hi! I really need you for something." He said. Helmeppo screamed and tried to run away, but Luffy quickly grabbed him by the back of his collar and dragged him away, down the stairs. "Show me where Zoro's swords are!"

"Helmeppo!" The marines screamed.

"After him!"

"Captain!" One of the marines pointed. "There's someone in the crucifixion yard!"

Morgan walked over to see Coby running towards Zoro. He gritted his teeth in anger. "I'm surrounded by traitors."

* * *

"That guy's gonna kill you for this." Zoro warned, but Coby just kept working at the ropes.

"Those marines are scum." Coby muttered. "A true marine should be honorable."

"Look kid, I got 10 days left and then-"

"There's going to execute you tomorrow." Coby cut in.

"What!?" Zoro stared at him in disbelief.

"Helmeppo never intended to honor your agreement." Coby explained. "He planned to execute you from the start, so Luffy just knocked him out."

"He did?"

"Yeah. Now the marines are dead set on catching Luffy." Then Coby added, "Don't worry, I won't ask you to become a pirate. But I do hope you help him out-" Before Coby could finish, he a gunfire could be heard and he fell back, blood spilling from his shoulder.

* * *

Shouted of angry marines could be heard in the background as Luffy dragged Helmeppo across the carpet. "So, where is Zoro's sword?"

"I'll tell you! Just please stop dragging me across the carpet!" Helmeppo pleaded. Luffy came to a screeching halt.

"Okay, tell me."

Helmeppo pointed backward. "We just pasted it."

Luffy knocked Helmeppo on the head. "Quit wasting time!"

"Don't move!" The marines shouted, guns pointed at their target. "Let Helmeppo go!"

Luffy huffed, "No way." He held Helmeppo in front of him. "Go ahead. Shoot." He started running. The terrified meat shield screamed.

"DON'T SHOOT! DON'T SHOOT! GET OUT OF THE WAY! AHHHH!"

* * *

"AHHH!" Coby screamed. "I've been shot! I'm bleeding! I'm gonna die!"

Zoro sighed in relief. "You're okay. Good. Now get outta here before they come down."

"I… I can't. I haven't untied you yet!" Coby huffed.

Zoro gritted his teeth.

"Stay where you are!" The marines were already down, guns aimed at the two. "Captain Morgan has ordered your immediate execution!"

* * *

"This must be the room." Luffy looked around. He turned his head to see three katanas lying on the ground. He dashed over and looked at them. "There's three of them." He turned to Helmeppo. "Hey, weird guy. Which one is Zoro's?" Helmeppo has already passed out, jaw hanging like an idiot. "He's asleep." Luffy dropped him and grabbed Zoro's swords. He tied them to his back with a random ribbon he teared off the wall. "Might as well grab all of them." He looked out the window and his eyes widened.

* * *

"ON MY ORDER, FIRE!" Captain Morgan bellowed. "Three!"

* * *

"Gomu Gomu no…"

* * *

"TWO!"

* * *

"ROCKET!"

* * *

"ONE!" Morgan shouted. "FIRE!" His voice rang as the marines pulled their triggers. Luffy landed just in time for the bullets to hit him.

"Luffy!" Coby screamed in horror.

Zoro's eyes widened. "You…!" But there was no blood. Instead, Luffy took a step back from the impact. The bullets caused his skin to stretch. Using his rubbery skin, Luffy bounced the bullets back, luckily not injuring any marines. He half expected seastone bullets, since they were popular on the Grandline. If they were, he would be dead by now, since one had aimed for his heart. He grinned confidently.

"Normal bullets can't hurt me~" He taunted, lightly. He sensed Coby fall back, fainting from the shock and stress. _He'll be fine._ Luffy shrugged.

"Wha-" Zoro gaped at him. "What are you!?"

"I'm the man who's gonna be King of the Pirates!" Luffy exclaimed.

"King of the Pirates?" Zoro stared at him in disbelief. This guy just kept surprising him over and over again. "Do you even know what that means?"

"Freedom." Luffy tilted his head. "What else can it mean?" Again. More surprises just kept coming. "Oh, I didn't know which sword was yours, so I just brought all of them." He untied the swords from his back and showed them to Zoro.

"They're all mine." Zoro said. "I used Santoryu, three-sword style."

"So, this is your last chance." Luffy said, grinning, which sent shivers down Zoro's spine. "Either you come with me, get your swords back, and become a pirate, or you get killed by the navy execution style."

"What are you? The son of a devil?" Zoro smirked. "If I don't join I'll just end up dead on these sticks. All right. You've got yourself a pirate!"

"Awesome!" Luffy cheered. "Now let's get you outta those ropes." He started working at the knots with his hands.

The marines in the background were freaking out, trying to figure out how such a phenomenon could exist. "What is he!?"

"The bullets bounced right off him!"

"He's no ordinary human." Morgan growled. "He's eaten one of the devil fruits!"

"The secret treasure of the sea!?"

"N-No way! So that's his power?"

They looked over to see Luffy already trying to untie their captive. "Captain! He's untying Zoro!"

"Don't just stand there, you fools! Stop him!" The Captain shouted. "If bullets don't work, use swords!" The marines unsheathed their swords and with a battle cry, they charged.

"Ugh, these knots are too tight." Luffy muttered.

"C'mon! Hurry up!" Zoro urged. It was at this point that Coby woke up again and screamed as he saw the approaching mob.

"Hold on."

"There's no time!" Zoro thrashed around.

"There, I untied one." Luffy grinned, as if it was an accomplishment. He looked down at his waist. "Oh. I forgot I had a knife…"

"Took you long enough!"

"It's not my fault Thatch gave up on teaching me!"

"Shut up and give me one of my damn swords, now!" The marines swung their swords down. The sound of clashing metal rang through the air as Zoro blocked all of them with his own three swords. "The first one who moves _dies._" He emphasized the last word, making the marine soldiers cry in terror. He looked at Luffy, who looked him back, straight in the eye. "Today, I officially become an outlaw, having to fight the marines. You already know my goal, to become the World's Greatest Swordsmen. If you do anything you make me lose sight of my goal, your life will end by my blade!"

"World's Greatest Swordsman, huh? That's good. If I had anything less than that would make me look bad."

"Big talk." Zoro snorted.

"Why do you hesitate!?" Morgan demanded. "They're just two men! Cut them down!"

"Might wanna duck." Luffy warned. Zoro did so.

"Gomu Gomu no…" His leg stretched as he kicked the marines away with one wing. "Muchi!"

"Wow!" Coby gasped. "So cool!"

"What the hell are you?" Zoro asked, staring.

"I'm a rubber man." Luffy replied, stretching his cheek.

"A rubber man?" One of the marines exclaimed.

"Captain, their too strong!"

"It's hopeless! We can't fight a rubber man!"

"We couldn't even beat Zoro, and he's half-starved!"

Morgan's eyes were shadowed in an intimidating manner. "Listen up. All you marines who just admitted weakness, shot yourselves in the head! I won't tolerate weaklings under my command." The marines stared at him in disbelief. "On my order FIRE!" The marines reluctantly picked up their rifles and aimed them at their heads. Luffy facepalmed at this, which amused Zoro to a certain extent. Luffy charged.

"Focus on the real enemy!" Luffy threw a punch at the naval captain, which was blocked by the axe. "It might be your downfall." Luffy finished, smirking.

"LUFFY!" Coby shouted at the top of his lungs. "DESTRY THIS LOUSY NAVY!"

"You have neither rank nor status." Morgan took off his coat and threw it onto the ground. "I'll teach you to defy your betters!" He swung forward. "I AM CAPTAIN AXE-HAND MORGAN!"

"Name's Luffy." Luffy replied. "Nice to meet 'cha." He jumped up to avoid the sharp blade swinging towards him. Instead of slicing Luffy, it cut through the steel fencing and stone wall. Coby crinkled.

"That's sharp." He said, nervously. Luffy kicked Morgan in the face, causing the man onto his back. Morgan got back up, furious.

"I sentence you to death!" Morgan bellowed, swinging his axe down on Luffy, yet again. Before it reached, Luffy kicked Morgan in the face, yet again. Luffy grabbed Morgan by the collar and punched him.

"You and your stupid navy…" Luffy growled, punching him against. "Are destroying Coby's dream!" The image of Garp flashed in his mind and his fist turned a shiny black. He swung it down on Morgan's jaws, causing his fist to make a deep engrave in the steel.

"STOP!" The terrified voice of Helmeppo finally reached him, but Luffy punched Morgan again. "I SAID STOP, YOU IDIOT!" There was a gun shoved against the side of Coby's head. Luffy's fist turned back to normal. "One more move and I'll shoot!"

"Helmeppo's crazy." One of the marines whispered.

"Luffy!" Coby shouted, his voice full of confidence. "Don't stop because of me! I'm not afraid to die!"

Luffy smiled. "You're a good guy, Coby." He readied his fist. "See, stupid. Coby's not afraid to die by your hand."

"I said not to move!" Helmeppo screamed.

Coby's eyes widened. "Luffy! Behind you!"

Luffy didn't pay any mind. "Gomu Gomu no…"

"You said you pay attention to the enemy." Morgan growled, raising his axe hand.

"Pistol!" Luffy punched Helmeppo square in the face. He grinned. "I'm not the only enemy." On cue, Morgan fell backwards. "Nice." Morgan hit the ground and Zoro landed. "Zoro."

"I'm just doing my job, captain."

"CAPTAIN MORGAN HAS BEEN DEFEATED!" One of the marines announced.

"Anyone else?" Zoro asked.

The marines turned to each other and threw their hats into the air in a mini celebration. "THE TYRANT'S REIGN OF TERROR IS OVER! WE'RE FREE!"

"I guess their glad we defeated their captain." Luffy shrugged. He turned to Zoro, who fell onto the ground.

"Zoro!"

* * *

"I'm stuffed!" Zoro exclaimed, with a content smile on his face. "Not eating for three weeks was worse than I thought!"

"See, you couldn't have survived a month." Luffy said, holding a piece of meat with two hands.

Zoro raised an eyebrow. "Funny, you seem so scrawny, yet you can down more food than I can.

"Sorry…" Coby rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Even I ate a lot."

"It's fine!" Rika's mother smiled. "You two saved the town, after all!"

"You're so strong, Onii-san!" Rika cheered.

"You bet!" Luffy grinned, taking another bite of his meat. "I'll get even stronger too!"

"Oh, yeah." Zoro cut it. "What are our plans?"

"Grandline." Luffy replied, not missing a beat.

"That's crazy!" Coby bursted out. "You can't just go to the Grandline with only two men!"

"We _are_ heading for the One Piece." Zoro said, agreeing with Luffy. "It won't hurt to go in that direction."

"You're talking crazy too!?" Coby exclaimed.

Zoro snorted, "You're not coming with us. Why do you care?"

"Even if I'm not going, I still worry!" Coby slammed his palms on the table. "Can't I worry about my friends!?" He turned to Luffy. "Luffy and I haven't known each other for long, but we're still friends, aren't we?"

"Yep! That's right!" Luffy smiled brightly, making Coby smile.

"You're the first real friend I've ever had. No one else ever stuck up for me. I wouldn't even stick up for myself. Plus, I was Alvida's cabin boy for a while. But, the two of you taught me to fight for what I believe in!"

Luffy tilted his head. "Isn't that why we're going to the Grandline?"

Zoro leaned back in his chair. "Makes sense."

Coby sweatdropped. "Wait, that's not what I- I'm trying to tell you guys not to be reckless!"

"What about your plans?" Zoro tapped him on the head with the hilt of his katana. "You were Alvida's cabin boy, you need to watch out for the navy's intelligence. If they find out about your plast, they won't let you join."

"Excuse me." A voice broke into the conversation. A marine stepped through the door. A group of marines and citizens were outside. "Is it true that you men are pirates?"

"That's right." Luffy said. "I have a crew member now, so that generally makes me a pirate captain.

"You saved our base and this town." The marine stared. "And, we are truly grateful to you. However, we are still marines, and we cannot house pirates. I'm sorry, but we have to ask you to leave. But, to show our gratitude, we shall not report you to Headquarters." A ring of protests were heard outside the bar.

"I guess we're off then!" Luffy shoved his hands into his pockets and grinned, standing up. "Thanks for the meal. I don't have any money to pay though." Rika's mother waved her hand in dismissal.

"It's fine." She replied.

"Let's go, Zoro."

"Yeah." Zoro stood up and the two walked past Luffy.

"Aren't you going with them?" The marine asked Coby. Coby stiffened. Luffy and Zoro halted in front of the exit.

"I'm…" Coby stuttered. "I… I'm not one of them!" Luffy smirked.

"Excuse me, pirates?" The marine was clearly confused. "Is that true?"

"Let me explain." Luffy said. "I know all about his past."

"Luffy…" Coby whispered.

"There was this ship with this fat pirate whale lady named Alvida.

"Luffy, don't…"

"She was really mean, and for two years, this guy-"

"SHUT UP!" Coby punched Luffy in the jaw. At the marines and citizens were shocked by the display. Luffy just punched Coby back, repeated like.

"ENOUGH!" The marine shouted. "You're disturbing the peace!" Luffy stopped, his fist unfolded. He was giggling inside. His acting was probably terrible.

"It's clear that you're not friends! Please, leave the town! Now!" The marine barked. Luffy's lips upturned. He started walking away, but stopped beside the marine. He spoke in a soft tone.

"Give Coby to Garp." Luffy whispered. "Name's Monkey D. Luffy. Tell him 'I'm home'." He started walking away again with Zoro following.

Luffy decided against using his Observation haki to know what was going on after that. Besides, the shouted of, "I'M NO PIRATE! I'M GONNA BE A MARINE!" Was all luffy needed to know.

They reached the port and Zoro sighed. "That was some pretty bad acting. I wouldn't be surprised if they saw through it."

"It's all up to Coby now. He'll get in, on way or another." Luffy said.

"Well, it's a good time to be leaving. Everybody in the town hates us." Zoro huffed. "That's the way a pirate should leave a town."

"Guess you're right." Luffy said, untying the small boat from the dock.

"Luffy!" A voice called.

"Coby!" Luffy exclaimed. Did Coby not get in?

Coby went into full soldier mode and saluted the two pirates. "Thank you, Luffy-san! I'll never forget all you did for me!"

"A marine saluting a pirate? Now I've seen it all." Zoro commented, jokingly.

"We'll meet again, Coby!" Luffy gave him a confident smile.

"'TEN SHUN!" The marines shouted. Coby's eyes widened in surprise.

Luffy and Zoro sailed away, waving backing to the people they were leaving.

"You've got some good friends, sailor." The new captain said.

"Yes, sir!" Coby said, shedding a few tears.

The lead marine turned around to face the rest of the group. "Now, it's against regulations to salute a pirate like we just did! As punishment, we won't get any dinner for one week!"

"YES SIR!" The marines shouted, happier to get the punishment than any other punishment in their lives.

* * *

"Vice-Admiral Garp, sir. Ex-captain Axe-hand Morgan has been captured."

"And?"

"Well, sir. We received a new recruit."

"What about it?"

"A young man by the man of Monkey D. Luffy requested that you train the boy personally."

"LUFFY!?"

"Yes sir…"

"What else did he say!?"

"Well, sir. He told me to tell you that he was 'home'."

Click.

"Vice-Admiral Garp, sir?"

* * *

_The Celestial Dragon took the brander out of the burning coals and the brander descended upon his shoulder. Luffy struggled, but it didn't help. A guard smashed his foot into Luffy's spine, keeping him from struggling. Luffy let out a cry of pain as the guard grinded his boot into his back. He stared in horror as the brander came within and inch from his shoulder. The brander pressed down against his shoulder and Luffy screamed, tears flowing down his widened eyes. It was a good minutes of screaming until the brander was removed. Lines of tears streamed down Luffy's eyes and he whimpered, his throat raw from screaming. The guard lifted his foot from Luffy's back and used it to flip Puffy onto his side. He swung his foot forwards and kicked Luffy, making him slide across the floor and hit the wall. Luffy couldn't whimper anymore. He didn't have the energy to breath. His breaths were short and shallow. His eyes were only half-open. _

_"Entertain your master, slave!" The guard shouted, kicking Luffy in the stomach, repeatedly. "Let's hear you scream!" The guard kicked Luffy harder. Luffy could taste the blood in his mouth. The guard nailed him with the sharp front of his boot and Luffy let out a choked scream. "That's more like it."_

* * *

"Luffy! Wake up!" Luffy shot up into sitting position. His hand immediately grabbed his shoulder and he heart quickened. His head pounded and he couldn't register any of his surroundings. The cruel chuckle of the Celestial Dragon echoed in his mind. He covered his ears.

"No. No. Got away. Go away. Go away." Luffy whispered.

"Luffy!"

"Go away. Stop." Luffy ignored the voice that called out to him.

"Luffy! Snap out of it!" Luffy felt someone grab his shoulders and shake him. Luffy slowly noticed the voice and looked up.

"Zoro..." Luffy whispered.

"What the hell happened?" Zoro asked. "You were screaming and You looked like you were in pain." Luffy noted the concern in his first mate's voice. How he desired some comfort. He wanted Ace. He wanted Sabo. He wanted Marco. He wanted Thatch, or Akiko, or Chiasa, or just someone he knew to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be okay.

"I-I'm fine." Luffy panted. "J-Just a bad dream. That's all..." He flinched when he felt his mark burn up under his bandages. He could only comfort himself for now. "It's okay..."

"You're not okay." Zoro said, firmly, placing both hands on Luffy's shoulder. Luffy chewed on the bottom of his lip and stared at the, now, very interesting wooden floor of the boat. Luffy gritted his teeth and before he knew it, he had already tackled Zoro to the ground with a hug.

"I know it's only been a day." Luffy whispered. Zoro was still shocked by his actions. "And, I know the bond between us isn't that great..." He clenched his teeth at the memory of the metal brander leaving the hot coals. "But, I really need someone to hug right now." His fingers dug into Zoro's back. Luffy bottled up the tears that were threatening to spill out. "I know it's selfish but I don't wanna let go."

Zoro huffed, but made a tiny, almost unnoticeable smile. "To think I'm following such a child for a captain. I don't even want to know how old you are."

"You wouldn't believe." Luffy mumbled through Zoro's shirt.

Luffy has finally fallen asleep, and this time, peacefully. He was curled up into a loose ball and his left thumb was touching his lower lip. Zoro would admit it, but it looked kinda cute **(Zoro: Baby cute, you perverts!)** Zoro remembered Luffy screaming and his nails digging into the wooden floor. He traced his fingers over the dents that Luffy's fingernails had made. "That wasn't just some normal nightmare." Something really traumatizing must have happened to his captain. And he knew that he probably didn't want to know.

* * *

**GUYS! I BROKE THE 7000 WORD MARK! SCREW YOU DEMON SIDE! YOU SAY SHORT CHAPTER, I SAY LONG CHAPTER! I'M FREE! I DON'T LISTEN TO YOU! *huff huff* Okay, I think I had too much sugar. Did you guys have a good halloween? I dressed up at a fem!Luffy! It was pretty awesome. I got lots of candy. I also flipped some guy the bird and called him a bastard... Hey! They instulted my friend's costume! No one instults my friends! Looking forward to Christmas (no, I haven't forgotten Thanksgiving) because I'm gonna get a Trafalgar Law cosplay hoodie! Woohoo! I'm so excited!**

***Cough cough* Anyway, yes. I cover the entire Shell town arc in a chapter. I'm cheap, I know. But, hey. Longer chapter for you! You can argue that I kinda followed the manga for this chapter, but I kinda mashed the anime and manga scenes together because some scenes in the manga I like better in the anime and visa verse. Anyway, I'm done talking. BYE!**

**Responses:**

**XxFire-PhoenixxX: Yes, it's sad. I know.**

**lany-chan: Here's more!**

**Mel72000: Thanks!**

**Enuescaris: You're welcome!**

**general yumi: Differences aren't that much, but yeah. Luffy kinda sent the chills up Zoro's spine XD**

**Yvonne Park: It will change some things, as you can see. (Left a fist sized huge in Morgan's jaw…)**

**sam-free15: All in time my friend. Be patient… :3**

**inulover305: :)**

**Guest: We'll see their reactions to his poster :3**

**Lady Otaku: I have random plot bunnies all the time XD It's pretty hilarious because I always shout, "I just got a random plot bunny!" Out loud and my brothers yell at me.**

**zolydck: Yep. Balance is the key to the universe! lol. Thanks for the compliments! Garp found out that Luffy's alive :D**

**phonenix: I love them too. That's why I type them :D**


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